STAWELL parish priest Father Eric Bryant warned a family to stay away from convicted paedophile priest Gerard Ridsdale but said he felt “powerless” to stop the serial abuser.
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Fr Bryant told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Wednesday, he trusted Bishop Ronald Mulkearns was “monitoring” the situation.
The inquiry heard Ridsdale’s sexual behaviour was raised at a high-level church meeting in 1982.
Fr Bryant said problems managing Ridsdale were raised by Bishop Mulkearns at the meeting of seven priests including Cardinal George Pell.
Fr Bryant said Bishop Mulkearns told the priests; “We’ve got a problem with homosexuality in the diocese.”
“I don’t think anybody knew how to handle the situation,” Fr Bryant said. “I think the diocese took a great dive at that stage and stage and sort of ended up in the dark ages.”
He told the inquiry he began to warn parents to keep their children away from Ridsdale in the late 1980s.
