Former Catholic priest Vincent Ryan allegedly promised a boy that altar boy training would be fun before he sexually abused him, a court heard.
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The 79-year-old, who has previously been jailed for the abuse of 35 boys between the 1970s and 1990s, is standing trial on charges of abusing a boy at The Junction in the mid 1970s and another at Cessnock in the early 1990s.
He has pleaded not guilty to five charges against the boys, including indecent assault on a person under 16 and attempted sexual intercourse on a person between 10 and 16.
Sydney District Court heard on Tuesday that Ryan, who was parish priest at The Junction in 1974 and 1975, published a parish notice that he was looking for altar boys to train.
Crown prosecutor David Patch said a boy who arrived at The Junction presbytery on a Saturday afternoon for training was met by an elderly woman who took him to the church sacristy where he waited 30 minutes for Ryan.
After a brief discussion about the role, Ryan told the boy that he wanted to ‘lighten things up’. He allegedly gave the boy a glass of wine, which he described as the ‘blood of Christ’.
Shortly afterwards, Ryan put his hand down the boy’s pants and began to masturbate him. Ryan also masturbated himself.
Later, he allegedly said “I told you altar boy training would be fun.”
The court also heard that Ryan held special Friday movie nights for altar boys while he was stationed at St Josephs Church Cessnock in the early 1990s.
Ryan is accused of touching the thigh and attempting to touch the penis of a boy who he was sitting alone with on a couch while watching a movie.
The boy's role also included assisting Ryan at funeral services.
He said Ryan had attempted to hug him when he became upset following a service. Mr Patch said the boy felt Ryan's erect penis pushing into his back before he put his hand down the boy's pants.
"I know how to make you happy," Ryan allegedly said.
On another occasion the boy was alone in Ryan's bedroom. Ryan allegedly attempted to force the boy to perform oral sex on him before the boy ran away.
The ABC has been granted permission to record parts of the judge-only trail for an upcoming documentary on the Catholic Church.
The trial is expected to go for between two and three weeks.
