ABOUT 40 or 50 cases of child sexual abuse in the Newcastle Anglican church have been settled through its redress scheme, diocesan business manager John Cleary has told the Royal Commission.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Cleary, who has been in his job since 2007, said that many of the cases had been settled outside of the official diocesan scheme. Asked if there were many more cases than the 40 or 50 he had estimated to the commission, he said he had been off work in recent months but there were two in the pipeline in early September.
Mr Cleary was asked about various controversies in the diocese during his time, including a push to remove the person in charge of allegations against church figures, the director of professional standards, Michael Elliot, who critics described as “a bounty hunter”.
Mr Cleary explained how then bishop Brian Farran stood him down for a day in 2012 because he objected to the bishop’s plan not to defrock Graeme Lawrence over the CKH matter. Farran then changed his mind over the defrocking. The hearing concludes on Thursday.
