In a week that saw Archbishop John Hepworth take his accusation of rape 40 years ago to the police, after its rejection by the Adelaide Archdiocese, Nick Xenophon is as adamant as ever, that justice has not be done.
“The inquiry makes the Spanish inquisition look fair in comparison,” says Xenophon, who has found a spare minute whilst taking part in a standing committee in Canberra to return Neos Kosmos’ call.
“It’s a whitewash and quite pathetic really,” says Xenophon, who named Hepworth’s alleged abuser Monsignor Ian Dempsey back in September under parliamentary privilege.
“The Adelaide Archdiocese use whatever excuse they can to justify their action or lack of action.
“This is an inquiry where no statement was taken from Archbishop Hepworth , so the person making the allegations was not even interviewed.”
Xenophon rubbishes the notion that the church-commissioned investigation headed by Michael Abbott QC was an attempt at anything other a face-saving exercise.
In a perhaps telling statement given to The Australian last week, Michael Abbott QC defended the credibility of his inquiry saying: “On the evidence that I had, I think my findings are very comprehensive.”
“How can you say it’s an extensive investigation,” says Xenophon, “when the person at the core of the complaint hasn’t even been interviewed?”
John Hepworth, whose lawyers raised a number of concerns about the procedural fairness of the inquiry and issues of ‘apprehended bias’, declined to take part in the inquiry.
“John Hepworth was concerned about whether it would be fair and raised concerns about the nature of the enquiry, its terms of reference. There were also financial sanctions as well,” says Xenophon. “He wanted a process similar to the one that was adopted by the Melbourne Archdiocese.”
The Melbourne process, conducted earlier this year by the Archdiocese of Melbourne’s independent commissioner, Peter O’Callaghan QC, resolved John Hepworth’s complaint against one of three priests he alleges sexually abused him 40 years ago – the late Ronald Pickering of Melbourne.
In that instance, Hepworth received $75,000 compensation and an apology on behalf of the archdiocese from Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart. The QC also accepted that Mr Hepworth suffered “many other instances of sexual abuse by members of the clergy in South Australia”. Nick Xenophon is convinced that if the Adelaide Archdiocese had followed the model in Melbourne there would have been a different outcome.
“The Melbourne Archdiocese had a fair, robust and transparent process, whereas the Adelaide Archdiocese seem to have had their heads in the sand.”
With a police investigation now underway, Nick Xenophon is as convinced as ever that the Adelaide Archdiocese and John Hepworth’s alleged abusers will be held to account for their actions.