The high profile royal commission into child sexual abuse will soon turn its attention to the Wollongong Catholic Diocese, as a public hearing examines allegations against a local priest stemming back to the 1990s.
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On Wednesday, the commission announced it would look into the diocese’s response to allegations of sexual assault against then Father John Gerard Nestor, a priest cleared of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old altar boy but later defrocked by the Vatican.
The hearing, starting on June 24, will investigate the relationship between the Wollongong diocese and the Vatican concerning preventative and disciplinary actions taken in response to the allegations as well as ‘‘any other related matters’’.
Fr Nestor was a priest in the Wollongong diocese in 1991 when he was charged with the indecent assault of a teenage altar boy.
In his 1997 court case, the priest admitted he had slept on mattresses on a floor with the boy and his younger brother in July 1991, but denied assaulting him.
Tony Abbott, then a parliamentary secretary in the Howard government, provided a character reference, describing Fr Nestor as a ‘‘beacon of humanity’’.
The Wollongong magistrate found Fr Nestor guilty and sentenced him to jail, but seven months later he won an appeal against the conviction and served no time behind bars.
But the Catholic Church never allowed him to return to the ministry and about five years ago he was struck off the clergy list, or ‘‘laicised’’, by the Vatican which said it had ‘‘grave reasons’’ for its decision.
Last year, Mr Nestor said he suspected the Church paid his alleged victim in return for evidence against him. The victim denied any such payments and called for the case to be referred to the royal commission.
Wollongong’s Bishop Peter Ingham – who has been in his role since 2001 – confirmed he had been asked to appear before the commission and said he would fully support its work.
‘‘As we move into this important time for the diocese, I renew my heartfelt apology to victims of sexual abuse by Catholic Church personnel,’’ he wrote in a letter to parishioners.
‘‘I also apologise to their families and all who have shared their suffering.’’
Any person or institution with a direct and substantial interest in the scope and purpose of the hearing can apply to appear through the commission’s website until June 13.
