AUSTRALIA
Riverine Herald
AN ECHUCA parish priest, appalled at the shocking new data from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, is also relieved it is now all out in the open.
The Sandhurst Diocese, which includes Echuca, had the second highest rate of priests accused of child sexual abuse out of Australia’s 17 Catholic dioceses over a period of 60 years.
Figures showed almost 15 per cent of priests who ministered in our diocese between 1950 and 2010 were accused of child sexual offences.
St Mary’s Catholic Church’s Father Des Welladsen said it was a shocking revelation.
‘‘It’s a surprise to me,’’ he said.
During his 47 years ministering in the Sandhurst Diocese, Fr Welladsen said he was only aware of one paedophile priest.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.