AUSTRALIA
9 News
AAP
Counselling organised for pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale by the Catholic Church amounted to treating him for anxiety, which disappeared when he realised he would not face criminal charges.
Ridsdale was sent to a psychiatrist in 1975 after an abuse complaint was made against him.
Counsel assisting the child abuse royal commission Gail Furness SC said psychiatrist Peter Evans had three or four sessions with Ridsdale, who denied the allegation.
Dr Evans will tell the commission he made no judgment on whether Ridsdale was guilty, Ms Furness said.
“He simply treated him by allaying his anxiety pending the outcome of police investigations,” she said on Monday.
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