THE Bishop of Grafton, in northern New South Wales, has resigned
early after a safeguarding audit revealed that he had not referred
some sexual-abuse allegations to the diocese's
professional-standards director. The allegations concerned a
children's home in Lismore.
The Rt Revd Keith Slater, who has been Bishop of Grafton for
nine years, had previously announced that he would resign in
November this year.
Media reports suggest that Bishop Slater was pressed to resign
by the Primate, Dr Phillip Aspinall, who has also sent a copy of an
internal review of the matter to the Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
In a statement, Bishop Slater said that he acknowledged his
responsibility for ensuring full compliance with the diocese's
abuse protocol, and that he "had failed in this duty". Some matters
"detailing sexual abuse at the North Coast Children's Home were not
referred to the professional-standards director as they should have
been", he said.
He apologised to the complainants concerned: the matters had all
now been referred to the director, who was in liaison with police
"to ensure that all relevant information has been provided to
them".
The Most Revd Denis Hart, the RC Archbishop of Melbourne, has
admitted to the Victorian Parliament's inquiry into institutional
handling of child sexual abuse (News, 3 May) that
the Church had covered up child sexual-abuse allegations.
Archbishop Hart said that a former Archbishop, the late Sir
Frank Little, had not kept any records of allegations made to him,
and had moved the clergy concerned to "innocent parishes".
After he was asked why it had taken 18 years for the RC Church
to write to Rome concerning one priest accused of paedophilia,
Archbishop Hart's response that it was "better late than never"
brought audible gasps from the packed public gallery. He said: "I
am appalled by the actions of these criminals against the weakest
and most defenceless in the community. I apologise unreservedly for
one of the darkest periods in our Church's history."
Cardinal George Pell, a former RC Archbishop of Melbourne and
now Archbishop of Sydney, will give evidence on the last sitting
day of the Victorian inquiry next week. The inquiry is to report to
Parliament by the end of September.