Catholic Bishops Accused of Professional Misconduct: A Protected Species

Step 1: In 2013 parishioners in Sandhurst (Bendigo) Diocese lodged an appeal to the Catholic Church’s National Committee for Professional Standards. It accused Bishop Tomlinson, a member of that Committee, of professional misconduct. They did so because of the bishop’s decision to allow the blocking of an investigation of allegations made by another parishioner.

The allegations were:
1. that a Parish Priest illegally withheld $3000 of Caritas donations;
2. that the four money counters signed statutory declarations about clarifications made with the parish priest concerning monies to be sent to Caritas.
3. that the diocesan official who investigated the matter cleared the parish priest on the grounds that the Parish Priest was free to do what he liked with that money;
4. that Bishop Tomlinson neglected to tell the appellants the true reason why the appeal was not accepted;
5. that, instead, Bishop Tomlinson allowed the accused “investigator” to abort the appeal and ignored further protests against his action;
6. that the parish priest who withheld the Caritas money bullied and harassed the parishioners who discovered his misconduct, driving two of them out of the parish;
7. that Bishop Tomlinson failed to properly investigate the bullying and harassment issues in this case as well as in the matter of a physical assault carried out at a Finance Committee meeting in another parish.
The Response: Bishop Wright (Newcastle), the president of The National Committee interviewed Bishop Tomlinson and accepted his denial without further investigation. No lay person – complainant, victim or witness - was interviewed. Bishop Wright simply declared that the allegations did not involve “serious violations of the principles and standards” expected by the Church.

Step 2: We then appealed to Mr Dunford QC, Chair of the Church’s National Review Panel. Response: Although he found Bishop Wright had failed to observe correct procedures, Mr Dunford too refused to investigate. He also determined in his judgment that the allegations did not involve “serious violations of the principles and standards” expected by the Church.

Our legal advice is that theft and physical assault are criminal matters; bullying and harassment are legislated offences in Victorian law. The determinations of Bishop Wright and Mr Dunford QC lack credibility. For them, apparently criminal acts are not considered serious violations of professional standards in the Church!

We are calling on Catholics across Australia to urge our bishops, individually, and as members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference:

1. to support an independent investigation into these allegations according to the proper procedures set out in Towards Healing (the document setting out the rules for handling complaints and allegations of violations of professional standards.)

2. to appoint an interim Chair of the National Review Panel acceptable to both parties to oversee the investigation.