Hollingworth feared depriving sex-offence bishop of income

By Greg Roberts
April 23 2003
   Peter Hollingworth, when he was the Anglican archbishop of Brisbane, failed to act against a retired bishop who sexually interfered with a 14-year-old girl in part because he did not want to reduce the bishop's capacity to earn money.
   The Governor-General has told an inquiry by the church's Brisbane diocese into its handling of child-sex complaints that to take any action against Bishop Donald Shearman would also have had "pastoral consequences" for the bishop and his wife, Fay.
   The report of the inquiry was handed yesterday to Dr Hollingworth's successor as archbishop, Philip Aspinall, who is seeking legal advice about which parts can be made public.
   The inquiry has heard Dr Hollingworth was present at a meeting in 1995 when Bishop Shearman admitted sexually interfering with the girl over two years at a church boarding house in the mid-1950s.
   The inquiry examined Dr Hollingworth's failure to revoke the Permission to Officiate held by Bishop Shearman, which allowed him to continue preaching even though he was retired.
   Shortly before he resigned to become Governor-General, the then archbishop invited Bishop Shearman to deliver a sermon at the 2001 Easter service in Brisbane's St John's Cathedral.
   Dr Hollingworth has not been required to appear before the inquiry, which is meeting his legal expenses. In a submission through his lawyers he has admitted responsibility only in a "titular" sense for failing to deal adequately with sexual abuse complaints.
   Dr Hollingworth said he gave consideration to the "early date of events" when considering whether to take action against Bishop Shearman.
   Dr Hollingworth said the bishop had been valued by those who had worked with him in the church and had expressed remorse over his actions at the boarding house. There would have been financial consequences for the bishop and his wife if his Permission to Officiate had been cancelled, Dr Hollingworth said. He decided it would be unnecessary and inappropriate to cancel the Permission to Officiate.
   Bishop Shearman has told the inquiry's head, Peter Callaghan, a Melbourne barrister, that he would not provide details of discussions at the 1995 meeting attended by Dr Hollingworth.
   Hetty Johnston, director of the child advocate group Braveheart, said Dr Hollingworth's submission raised doubts about his well-publicised apology last year to the boarding house victim for suggesting she had initiated the abuse. "It would seem the Governor-General remains in a state of total denial over sex abuse issues," Ms Johnston said.
   The inquiry's inability to force Bishop Shearman to give evidence about Dr Hollingworth's involvement demonstrated the need for a royal commission, she said.
   "This inquiry is not going to resolve these issues."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/22/1050777257272.html
The Sydney Morning Herald, "Hollingworth feared depriving sex-offence bishop of income," By Greg Roberts, April 23 2003
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