Action against sexual offenders too slow

Priest (Fr. Tom Brennan) dies facing sex crime cover-up charges

I refuse to accept the line spun in this story by the Catholic traditionalists that Fr. Brennan is "being judged in another place". That is simply not good enough. After all, if Divine Justice (if it exists at all) were to be regarded as adequate, why do we have Police Forces, and Courts and Prisons?
 
Lets get real, folks. These crimes are real crimes - against children.

Lets remember that it is more than 30 years since these matters were first raised with Fr. Brennan. His initial response was to beat with a cane the children who dared to report the offences to him. Talk about punishing the victims.

The Church has known about these issues for decades, and now we are being asked for "respect, sensitivity and compassion". It is not good enough, Fr. Tunks. The Catholic Church must accept corporate responsibility for its failures in this and many, many other cases. Cardinal Pell, (who has his own history with regard to "supporting" paedophile priests) ought be forced to use his position as the Prelate of Australia, and show leadership - by bringing all known cases into the light.

Cardinal Pell, (then Bishop of Ballarat)
supported known sex offenders such as Fr Gerald Ridsdale.

Priest dies facing sex crime cover-up charges. (Read the full story)

• Newcastle Vicar General Barry Tunks asked the community for ‘‘respect, sensitivity and compassion’’ yesterday after the death of controversial Catholic priest Tom Brennan.
• Father Brennan’s death came only days after a Newcastle magistrate was told the priest was too ill to attend court on two concealing crime charges, and eight charges of sexually assaulting a boy, 8, at Waratah in the 1980s. He was also charged with assaulting two boys by caning them in the 1970s for reporting a priest had sexually assaulted them.
• The priest died of cancer at Hunter Valley Private Hospital at 5.15pm on Sunday after making history in August as the first Australian clergy member to be charged with concealing the child sex crimes of a notorious paedophile priest. (DJW notes: a different person from Fr. Brennan)
• Strikeforce Georgiana Detective Sergeant Kristi Faber alleged the notorious paedophile priest  sexually assaulted 31 boys after Father Brennan, a former principal of St Pius X, Adamstown, was first warned of the offences in 1978.
• A Hunter man named Tom, who overcame Father Brennan’s false statement in 2000 to record the first successful action by a victim against the notorious priest, said Father Brennan ‘‘wasn’t big enough’’ to admit he had been repeatedly told about the paedophile priest in the 1970s.

Personal Disclaimer: Fr. Barry Tunks was a class-mate of one of my brothers, and I knew him vaguely when I was a young Seminarian myself, back in the 1960s.

Time long overdue to stamp out child abuse

According to the Newcastle Herald, a senior Priest in the Maitland Diocese (which includes Newcastle and the Lower Hunter region) has been charged with what amounts to a "cover-up" of complaints of sexual abuse made by school-boys against a Priest, John Sydney Denham. The senior Priest was the Principal of the School at the time. Fr Denham was one of the teachers.

• ‘‘It’s the first time such a senior Catholic Church leader has been charged with allegedly concealing child sex crimes by another alleged offender.’’

What did the senior Priest do when he was told about these "alleged offences"?
He apparently caned the students.

Yes, that's right.

What is worse, the senior Priest has been charged with "eight counts of sexually assaulting a boy, 8, at a Waratah church in 1984 and 1985, and two counts of assault." (Presumably the caning incidents).

Following up the crass and blindly stupid comments reported from America yesterday, where a senior Franciscan Friar (albeit of a break-away group) tried to blame children for seducing priests.
Can you believe that?

Well, that's a long way away, but Newcastle is just up the road.

Personal disclaimer: As many people know, I was once a Catholic Seminarian (student Priest). One of my classmates was John Denham, now know in Police reports as John Sydney Denham.
He has a pile of charges against him, but has not yet faced a trial.

•  "Father Denham has not entered pleas to 47 charges including indecent assault and buggery involving 14 boys in the 1970s. He will return to court in September."

Why these matters move so slowly mystifies me.

Surely it is time for a Royal Commission in NSW into these Child Abuse events, not just relating to Catholic priests, but all teachers and persons in positions of authority (and trust) relating to children.

But with the Far Right of the Liberal Party so completely under the control of the male Catholic (Jesuit trained) cabal in the NSW Parliament, I hold out little hope that this will happen.
But it should.

Denis Wilson