In a development similar to charges filed against Philadelphia’s Msgr Lynn, a priest from the Maitland-Newcastle diocese has been charged with covering up the abuse of another priest. Some of the fourteen charges against Fr Tom Brennan relate to alleged abuse on his part. But others stem from covering up sex crimes of another priest while both served at a high school. These are thought to be the first such charges in Australia. The story has already spread to Vatican Insider. Do we take heart that stories of criminality race across the world these days, and that cover-up is becoming difficult in some quarters?

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