A senior Catholic Church official advised the family of a boy who was sexually molested by a priest not to report it to the police unless they wanted to see their child “torn to pieces’’ in court, a royal commission has heard.
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The second day of a public hearing into jailed paedophile priest John Joseph Farrell was told allegations against him were played down as just his way of “showing affection” for boys.
Karolyn Graham told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse she was distraught when her son Michael McGroder disclosed how the former Moree priest molested him in 1984.
She and her then husband confronted the vicar general in the Diocese of Armidale Monsignor Frank Ryan about the allegations involving their son as well as a number of other boys, the commission heard.
Ms Graham’s evidence is that Monsignor Ryan spoke to Farrell who said that, “he loved the boys, he didn’t mean to do them any harm, he only fondled their genitals and that was his way of showing affection.’’
Monsignor Ryan, who died in 2011, advised the family not to contact police, the inquiry heard.
“Monsignor Ryan (said) not to go to the police as it would be traumatic for Michael and the family and asked whether we wanted to see our boy in a witness stand being torn to pieces,’’ Ms Graham said.
Michael McGroder told the commission the family was “ostracised” by the Catholic community in Moree after complaining about Farrell who is serving a minimum jail term of 18 years after pleading guilty to a string of child sex offences in May this year.
The inquiry heard how Farrell won the trust of young boys in the Moree parish by taking them swimming and on trips to other towns.
“We thought that we were special because a priest was paying us so much attention and we all looked up to Father Farrell,’’ Mr McGroder said.
He told the commission Farrell sexually molested him when he was aged about 11.
“(Farrell) said, ‘You know I was only playing, don’t you? I’m only having fun. I do it to all the boys’,’’ Mr McGroder told the inquiry.
Mr McGroder, now 43, spoke to police about Farrell in 2013. He told the commission he remains angry with the way the Catholic Church has treated him and his family.
“Their arrogance is beyond belief,’’ he said. “They have not said sorry to me, not said anything to my family. So many people’s lives have been ruined.”
Another witness, given the pseudonym CPA, wept as he told the commission how he “self destructed” after being raped by Farrell when he was in primary school in Moree in 1981.
The commission heard Farrell threatened to kill him if ever told anyone about the abuse.
“I did not tell my parents what father Farrell did to me because I thought he would kill me and my family if I did,’’ he said.
CPA reported the abuse to police in 2012, telling the commission that Farrell destroyed his life. “I went from being a happy kid that used to go motor bike riding, go to the pool, play soccer and have fun to someone I didn’t like,’’ he said. “I went on to self destruct.”
Father Bernard Flood, a priest in the Diocese of Armidale, told the commission that he advised the family of another victim, given the pseudonym CPF, that they could report Farrell to the police.
The inquiry heard Farrell was counselled about his behaviour in Moree before being moved to a new parish in Tamworth and then on to Merrylands and Kenthurst, in Sydney.
Father Flood told the commission he believed the church’s approach to responding to allegations about clergy needed to change.
The hearing, before Justice Peter McClellan, continues.
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