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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Christopher Knaus

High court to rule on Catholic church’s liability for abuse committed by paedophile priests

Priest
A priest offering communion. The Catholic church has been granted special leave to appeal a Victorian court ruling regarding a paedophile priest. Photograph: Con Tanasiuk/Design Pics Inc./Rex Features

The Catholic church has won the right to challenge in the high court a landmark Victorian ruling forcing the church to take on greater liability for the actions of paedophile priests within its ranks.

In the past two years, the Victorian courts have delivered and upheld an unprecedented ruling that the Ballarat diocese was vicariously liable for the abuse of a five-year-old child known as DP at the hands of assistant priest Father Bryan Coffey.

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