Fr Harrison told ODT Insight the complaints against Fr Murray were handled according to the processes and understanding of paedophilia of the day.
He was not aware of the offending before complaints began to emerge, and nor were, to the best of his knowledge, others within the Church – although he still wondered about that.
“I always wondered myself how somebody else didn’t stumble across it.”
Bishop John Kavanagh had also been “ahead of his time” when he responded to complaints levelled against Fr Murray by sending him to Sydney for counselling, Fr Harrison said.
It was hoped treatment could cure him of his affliction, after which he could be returned to public ministry, he said.
2019-10-18