A SPECIAL COMMISSION of inquiry into how police handled allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in New South Wales is to be established, the state’s premier Barry O’Farrell announced today.
The move comes after a senior police official went public with serious allegations of a cover-up by the church’s hierarchy.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox was taken off the case in 2010, despite building a rapport with victims, taking numerous key statements and being responsible for a number of convictions. There have been about 400 victims of sexual child abuse in the Newcastle-Hunter area and 11 priests have been convicted since 1995.
Fox wrote a letter to Premier Barry O’Farrell, which was published in the Newcastle Herald, to outline his claims.
Explaining his – and many others’ – frustrations about what he called the “sinister behaviour” of church authorities, he wrote:
I can testify from my own experience that the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church. None of that stops at the Victorian border.
“The whole system needs to be exposed; the clergy covering up these crimes must to be brought to justice and the network protecting paedophile priests dismantled. There should be no place for evil or its guardians to hide. Then and only then will the arrests begin to slow, signalling fewer children are being raped.”
Fox, who has 35 years experience on the force, concluded his letter by calling for a royal commission into child sex abuse in the state.
There are more than just the victims and their families who want to see a royal commission. I have spoken to teachers who no longer want to be intimidated and silenced. I have sat with a priest and nun who were so distraught they felt forced to leave the church when they couldn’t remain silent. I have taken reports of ostracism and reprisals against victims’ families for giving evidence against priests at trial. If this doesn’t warrant a royal commission something is very wrong.
Fox spoke openly about his experiences during an interview on ABC’s Lateline last night.
He recounted horrific interviews with victims and said he had “irrefutable evidence” of cover-ups. He believes the knowledge of the abuse goes higher than diocese bishops and possibly to the “top level of the church’s hierarchy”.
“The greatest frustration is that there is so much power behind [the church],” he told Tony Jones. He said he had proof of one priest moving parish money to pay for the legal costs of a neighbouring priest who was fighting abuse allegations.
During his investigation of Irish priest Father Denis McAlinden, Fox alleged he encountered serious cover-ups. For four decades, the priest – who had left Ireland in 1949 – was moved from parish to parish.
According to ABC, Fox was in the middle of investigating whether McAlinden’s crimes were covered up by three senior members of the clergy – general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops conference Brian Lucas, the Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson and former bishop of Newcastle Michael Malone – when he was directed to hand over all his evidence to other officers, including a statement from a critical witness.
The detective said that he was considered “outspoken” among others in high rank, adding, “I’m sure that some hierarchy in the police force won’t be wanting to put me on their Christmas card list after the letter today and after speaking here tonight. I don’t care.”
“At the end of the day, I don’t know whether I’ll face disciplinary charges or anything in relation to the stance I’ve taken. And again, I don’t care. What I do care about is that there are so many victims out there. I can’t divorce myself – even though I’m a detective, I can’t say that I’m not human and I haven’t heard their pain.”
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