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ARCHIVE: Shine The Light - The Inquiry

THE Special Commission of Inquiry was awash with tears on Thursday afternoon as two witness statements by survivors of serial paedophile priest Denis McAlinden were read to the proceedings.

Zimmerman Services healing and support co-ordinator Mauren O’Hearn read the statements after giving evidence of her work with at least 28 of the disgraced priest’s victims.

Ms O’Hearn confirmed that McAlinden was active from as early as 1949 and as late as 1986.

She said survivors of McAlinden were still coming forward and that people had come from New Zealand and interstate.

The commission had previously heard James Fletcher victim AH read his victim statement and it fell to Ms O’Hearn to read the two statements on behalf of McAlinden’s victims.

The first woman, known as ABR, said she wa 10 years old when McAlinden began abusing her at Taree.

He became close to her family and went on holidays and social outings with them.

She said he drove her into the bush and abused her and told her if she ever said anything he would know because he could read her mind.

She said it was only four years ago that she summoned the courage to tell her husband but when she did ‘‘what had happened in the 1950s came flooding back’’.

The second woman, AQ, was born in 1975 and abused by McAlinden at the age of 11.

She said her Adamstown home was ‘‘a house full of girls’’ and McAlinden came to visit often.

He abused her in the presbytery, at her home and in the playground.

She said he got away with it ‘‘almost in front of people’’ who were blinded to his actions because he was a priest.

She said she had remained anonymous because she didn’t want the burden of what had happened to fall on the shoulders of her children.

She said the first time she saw McAlinden on the front page of the Newcastle Herald she ‘‘threw up for hours’’ afterwards as she wondered who else that she knew had been abused by him.

She said no-one knew the pain she felt inside and that his then turned to anger at what he was allowed to get away with.

‘‘I wanted to know why did no-one stop him before he got to me,’’ she asked.

‘‘Can someone tell me?’’

‘‘Why was he free to be around so many young children.

‘‘If the inquiry finds people knew about it and allowed it to happen we victims might find some peace knowing something has been done and someone held accountable.’’

The inquiry took a short lunch break after Ms O’hearn read the statements, with Bishop Bill Wright expected to address a closing session today on Thursday.

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