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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Christopher Knaus

‘Red flags everywhere’: high court asks Catholic church why it didn’t investigate priest’s abuse 50 years ago

A cross on the exterior of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on Monday, June 18, 2012. (AAP Image/April Fonti) NO ARCHIVING
The Catholic church is now regularly seeking permanent halts to proceedings by arguing the death of alleged perpetrators and the inability to obtain their response to a survivor’s allegations leaves them unable to receive a fair trial. Photograph: April Fonti/AAP

The high court has pressed the Catholic church to explain why it didn’t have an adequate opportunity 50 years ago to investigate the extent of a priest’s abuse of children, given there were “red flags everywhere” about his crimes.

The court on Thursday began hearing a key case about a legal tactic now routinely being employed by the church and other institutions to permanently shield themselves from abuse survivors’ civil claims for compensation.

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