Press Release from Lay Canon Cheryl Woodman
PRESS RELEASE
STATEMENT BY LAY CANON CHERYL WOODMAN IN RESPONSE TO THE STATEMENT RELEASED BY ARCHBISHOP PHILLIP WILSON REGARDING ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE MADE BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN HEPWORTH
SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
I am the Chair of the Professional Standards Board of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia. I am the person to whom Archbishop Hepworth first disclosed his abuse and it was on my recommendation that we met urgently with Monsignor David Cappo, Vicar-General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide.
I have been present at all meetings between Archbishop John Hepworth and Monsignor Cappo.
At the initial meetings Monsignor Cappo was sensitive and affirming of Archbishop Hepworth’s story. He advised the Archbishop that it was his right to contact the police but said that this could be a lengthy process with no clear outcome. Archbishop Hepworth indicated that he preferred to deal with the Archdiocese of Adelaide. Monsignor Cappo was sensitive that Archbishop Hepworth was in crisis following disclosure and was not ready to proceed with an investigation. He did request that the Archbishop provide detailed statements of his complaint. The Archbishop’s statements in early 2008 detailed the extensive nature of the abuse from aged 15 at the hands of three perpetrators and wrote of his desire to be reconciled to the Catholic Church. As Archbishop Hepworth moved towards being able to proceed with a formal complaint, Monsignor Cappo said that he would not be following Towards Healing, but that a special process would be devised appropriate to a person of Archbishop Hepworth’s status.
In November 2008 Archbishop Hepworth formally requested Archbishop Wilson to take his case to Rome. In early 2009 Archbishop Hepwoth requested details of the outcome and was told by Monsignor Cappo, “We don’t write letters like that”.
Monsignor Cappo clearly indicated he accepted Archbishop Hepworth’s allegations but not much could be done because two of the perpetrators were dead. He said that Dempsey was a different matter and a meeting could be arranged for Archbishop Hepworth to confront Dempsey. He said that of course Dempsey would deny the allegations but it would be extremely powerful for the Archbishop to confront him and state what he had done and the damage this had caused in the Archbishop’s life. I was alarmed and said this was high-risk and would rarely be recommended in any recognised therapeutic process. I was also concerned that Archbishop Hepworth’s claims of abuse, that began when he was a minor in the full time care of the Catholic church and continued until he fled in fear as a young priest, were being reduced to a single allegation against the third person in the sequence of abuse. This proposed confrontation was discussed in the presence of the Dominic Agresta, a solicitor for the Archdiocese, one of only two meetings with their solicitor present. At a later meeting Monsignor Cappo denied that he ever made this suggestion as it would be inappropriate and damaging to Archbishop Hepworth.
Monsignor Cappo reported to us that Demsey had been confronted with the allegations, and, as expected, had denied them but that he, Cappo, believed the Archbishop. It was becoming clear to us that there was no clear process. At no time were we notified of the nature of a proposed process even upon direct request. In the search for justice, I sought a meeting with Cardinal Pell that took place in April 2010. The immediate outcome was a referral to the process of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Melbourne Process was completed in August this year in a timely, professional, pastoral manner. The fifty-page report found that abuse occurred in South Australia and Victoria and named all three perpetrators. The Archbishop of Melbourne has written a letter of apology to Archbishop Hepworth.
When Monisgnor Cappo was offered a copy of the Melbourne Process report to read in our presence, the diocesan solicitor present warned us that should we make available a copy, it would be given to Dempsey. Archbishop Hepworth protested that the report contained intimate personal details and asked what process was running, Towards Healing or Canon Law. Monsignor Cappo replied, neither and that it was only a preliminary enquiry. He then closed the copy of the report and stated, “I am not going to read that”.
Neither I, as Chair of Professional Standards, nor Archbishop Hepworth, have been provided with details of any current process that the Archdiocese of Adelaide is using in this case. What had begun as caring and affirming had degenerated into a toxic procedure is re-traumatising the victim and seems to offer no hope of the Archbishop reconciling with the Catholic Church. This is the destruction of not only a man, but also a priest.
Lay Canon Cheryl Woodman
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