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30 July 2015

Catholic Church prioritised protecting reputation above children in Ballarat abuse case, senior sergeant says

A senior sergeant on the 1990s Victoria Police attempt to charge a bishop with covering up the crimes of paedophile priests has broken his silence, saying the Catholic Church he encountered was more concerned with "brand protection" than protecting vulnerable children.
Chris O'Connor, who led the force's Child Exploitation Squad in the 1990s, worked on Operation Arcadia, an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to prosecute Bishop Ronald Mulkearns for moving Gerald Francis Ridsdale from parish to parish in the Ballarat diocese, where the priest was able to abuse hundreds of children.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-29/catholic-church-put-reputation-over-children-in-ballarat-police/6658412