Child sex abuse report critical of former Archbishop’s failure to address wrongdoing

Former Archbishop of Melbourne Frank Little has been savaged over his relentless failure to address wrongdoing by clergy.

Former Archbishop Frank Little.

Former Archbishop of Melbourne Frank Little has been savaged over his relentless failure to address wrongdoing by clergy, the child sex abuse royal commission has found.

The report into sex abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has found a consistent inability by the late archbishop and other prominent Catholics to deal with allegations.

The report, which has been redacted in part, is highly critical of Archbishop Little’s handling of the deranged offender Father Peter Searson.

As well as assaulting children, Searson — who died in 2009 — showed a dead body to children and exhibited bizarre behaviour including pulling a gun.

``The matters known to Archbishop Little by the end of 1986 were undoubtedly sufficient to demonstrate that Father Searson ought to be removed from a parish appointment and posed a grave risk to the safety of children,’’ the report found.

``By not removing Father Searson, Archbishop Little abjectly failed to protect the safety and wellbeing of the children within the parish (Doveton).’’