NEWCASTLE Anglican Bishop Greg Thompson is “the bishop not welcome in his own cathedral” after the royal commission heard extraordinary evidence this week of a complaint against him by a group of senior Anglicans after he revealed he was sexually abused by a bishop.
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The Dean of Newcastle Stephen Williams is expected to make a public statement on Sunday after royal commission chair Justice Peter McClellan accused solicitor Robert Caddies of leading “coordinated opposition” to Bishop Thompson.
This followed a complaint about the bishop to the royal commission from a group that included Mr Caddies, former Newcastle Lord Mayor John McNaughton, solicitor and synod member Greg Hansen, synod member Laurie Tabart and church wardens Simon Adam and Andrew Traill.
The complaint included that the bishop potentially exposed “younger members of the diocese” to “danger” because he had not previously disclosed the abuse. But the group was accused of trying to undermine the bishop, with Justice McClellan asking Mr Caddies if he was suggesting the bishop’s credibility needed to be looked at because of the time he had taken to speak in public about it. The commission has heard expert evidence that abuse survivors can take decades to disclose abuse.
An emotional Mr Thompson on Friday described Justice McClellan’s fiery questioning of Mr Caddies as “a validation”.
“It was a gift to be publicly validated,” the bishop said.
“Although it was only 20 minutes of evidence it was a message to those who had sent the letter. They weren’t going to walk away without knowing how it had been received.”
Bishop Thompson said although he had read a similar complaint by the group to Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies in April, he had not read the letter to Justice McClellan until it was on display at the royal commission on Monday.
“I had galvanised myself for it, but I was shaken by it,” he said.
“It is very sad that a bishop is not welcome in his own cathedral and that people are prepared to undermine me as I try to address the extraordinary history of betrayal.”
In the letter sent to the royal commission on April 13, the group indicated it was prompted to write because Bishop Thompson “may be giving evidence to the royal commission or otherwise assisting in the investigation stage”.
“We write as a group of Anglican laypersons, most of whom have held office in one capacity or another in the diocese of Newcastle.”
The group said it was writing “out of a serious concern for the good governance of the church and not from personal animus of any kind”.
The complaint was directly linked with a Newcastle Herald article in October in which Bishop Thompson said he had been groomed and sexually abused by Bishop Ian Shevill and another senior priest of the diocese.
“It is acknowledged that many of these matters are deeply distressing to the bishop and we pray that he is eventually able to find peace. The good of the diocese, however, must also be an overriding concern.”
The letter said the group was “gravely concerned” about “the behaviour of, and statements made by” the bishop.
“You were wanting the royal commission to investigate the bishop, is that what it amounted to?” Justice McClellan asked Mr Caddies, who was diocesan lawyer for nine years until 2005, and a friend of defrocked former Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence.
“Were you seeking to say to the royal commission that because it’s taken so long, the bishop’s credibility should be looked at?” Justice McClellan said.
Mr Caddies: “No, not at all.”
Justice McClellan: “Not at all?”
Mr Caddies: “I don’t believe so.”
Mr Caddies acknowledged he had challenged Bishop Thompson’s credibility, after Justice McClellan questioned him about a statement to the royal commission in which he said: “I question if Bishop Thompson was in fact abused, why didn’t he report it earlier?”
Justice McClellan questioned Mr Caddies about the “very serious division” in the diocese that started with professional standards hearings in 2010 against Graeme Lawrence after child sex allegations against him.
“You’re in one side of the divisions, aren’t you?” Justice McClellan said.
“Yes, I probably am, your Honour,” Mr Caddies said.
Counsel assisting Naomi Sharp questioned Mr Caddies about a “bloc” associated with Newcastle Christ Church Cathedral that was “seeking to undermine Bishop Thompson at the moment”.
“I wouldn’t call it a bloc, but they are people, they’re diverse people from all walks of life and from various places in Newcastle in that list. I wouldn’t call them a bloc,” Mr Caddies said.
He denied the group was trying to undermine the bishop.
“No, I don’t think it is quite the position. We have concerns about him and in relation to management of the diocese,” Mr Caddies said.
You can find the letter from concerned laypersons to the royal commission here.
