Survivors facing silence after death of convicted paedophile priest

BY DAKOTA TAIT

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is under fire, after an apparent silence following the death of priest and convicted paedophile Vincent Ryan.

It's understood, he passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 84, after a period of poor health.

The Clergy Abused Network (CAN) was informed about the death last Wednesday.

Of a number of victims and families of victims who were contacted by the organisation, none knew or had been told by the Diocese.

The Diocese declined to comment, but did confirm Mr Ryan's passing.

CAN co-founder and chairperson Robert O'Toole described the silence as disappointing, but not surprising.

He says the survivors and the families of victims should have been informed as a courtesy, and it shouldn't be up to him to let them know.

"I think it's remiss of the Diocese not to advise those affected or directly affected people," he said.

"It's not unusual that the Diocese or the Catholic Church generally wouldn't comment. I mean, we've experienced that in this Diocese as recently as last year, with another episode where there was no comment on a known perpetrator."

Mr Ryan was convicted of sexually abusing 37 children, first charged in 1995 and serving a number of prison sentences throughout his life.

He was the first Catholic priest in Newcastle, and one of the first in the world, to be convicted for child sexual abuse.

Mr O'Toole says his death could be a chance for closure, but survivors will still be left with questions and trauma.

"I think they're angry, because the Diocese or the Catholic Church hasn't laicised [removed from the clergy] Ryan," Mr O'Toole said.

"He remained a priest up until the time of his death, even though he unable to promote himself or practice as a Catholic priest.

"We lobbied long and hard for him to be laicised, but that has to come from the Pope in Rome, and he just wasn't forthcoming, despite the fact that there are others who have been incarcerated for lesser time and many fewer offences.

"They have been laicised, but Ryan was not, for some reason best known to themselves."

Image credit: ABC.

Coronavirus Closes Churches While Councils Fight to Stay Open

BY MEGHAN RICHARDSON

As the Coronavirus situation continues to evolve, many local organisations and councils have been forced to review their regular programs and events.

The reshuffle follows after the federal government announced that "non-essential" gatherings of more than 100 people are banned.

Many religious organisations have said they will close their doors to keep their followers safe.

This includes the mosque at Wallsend which has suspended regular services until further notice.

Similarly, Catholic and Anglican churches reported they will also shutting down and temporarily stopping all Sunday services.

However, religious schools in the area are to remain open.

Catholic Schools around Newcastle and Maitland said they will stay open until the 9th of April.

While Anglican schools around the Hunter have stated they are currently open but continue to evaluate the situation daily.

The Coronavirus has also threatened to close many local community events and activities.

Newcastle council said Blackbutt Reserve's bushland will remain open, but services requiring staff to interact with the public are suspended.

Meanwhile, Maitland City Council has addressed the uncertainty and said all council facilities will remain open but public programs across the libraries, pools, and art gallery have been suspended.

The council also announced that the annual Street Eats event is still set to go ahead on April 3rd, but the event will be split across several sites in order to promote social distancing.

Catholic Diocese To Open More Long Day Care Centres

BY OLIVIA PORTELL

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is planning to overcome the current struggle to keep up with demand for long day care centres in the area.

With five centres already up and running, they are looking to expand to twenty over the next five years.

Diocese CEO Sean Scanlon says there are plans all for the whole region.

"We've got a number of sites already ear-marked, we've got development applications approved, we've got agreements to take over some existing centres so whilst it's optimistic, or perhaps even ambitious, it's probably not outside the realms of possibility," he says.

"We've got plans to be in Raymond Terrace at the beginning of next year, we'll be in Maitland where we're also setting up a training centre so we can train staff. Gillieston Heights will be following that as well as Muswellbrook, Scone, and the expansion of our existing centre in Newcastle West, so we're looking to be across the region."

The new plans come after three centres were opened this year in Chisholm, Cardiff and Lochinvar.