Bitterly disappointed with the Church investigation, Hepworth said he had no choice but to turn to the police.

He says he feels betrayed by the Adelaide Catholic Archdiocese, whom he first approached four years ago.

"It was never my intention to go beyond the processes of the church," Hepworth said.

"I very much regret that I am having to do that but I have been left with no option but to ask the police to examine the matters that I have put before the church."

Mr Abbott yesterday defended the credibility of his inquiry.

"Archbishop Hepworth chose not to make any written statement; he chose not to put anything in writing; he chose not to give me any list of witnesses to contact; he chose not to participate - full stop," he told The Australian.

"On the evidence that I had, I think my findings are very comprehensive."

A spokeswoman for the archdiocese said the church had encouraged Hepworth to take his allegations to police for the past four years.

Sources

• The Australian
• Herald Sun
• CathNews
• Image: The Australian

The allegation was brought by Traditional Anglican Archbishop, John Hepworth and dates back 40 years to when he was a Catholic seminarian.

The investigation, conducted by Michael Abbott, a prominent Adelaide QC, found there was no undue delay in the way in which the diocese dealt with Hepworth's allegations.

Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, said yesterday, the investigations were very extensive.

The investigation included interviews with 29 witnesses, many of whom were present at the time when the alleged incidents occurred.

"I am satisfied that Mr Abbott examined every aspect of the allegations raised by Archbishop Hepworth", Wilson said.

"Based on the findings made in the report, and the evidence upon which it is based, I intend to accept the findings in full."

Wilson said the sensitive nature of the report means he will not be releasing it.

Australian Senator Nick Xenophon, who in February used Parliamentary privilege and named Monsignor Ian Dempsey as Hepworth's assailant, dismissed the inquiry as a "joke".

Labelling the process as "flawed", Xenophon said "John Hepworth wasn't even interviewed."

"This made the Spanish Inquisition look fair," Xenophon said.

Mr Abbott however disputes Xenophon's comments.

"I have interviewed all the witnesses available to me and I have, through my instructing solicitors, made many requests for Archbishop Hepworth to be interviewed by me."

"I also had complete access to the Archives of the Archdiocese and to the records of the Glenelg Parish," Mr Abbott told the The Advertiser.

"I reached the conclusions I did ... after taking into account all of the evidence which was available to me. On that basis I did not accept the allegations made by Archbishop Hepworth concerning Monsignor Dempsey."

"I note that Monsignor Dempsey was named by Senator Xenophon as the person in respect of whom Archbishop Hepworth has made these allegations."

"I also note that Senator Xenophon conducted no inquiry, interviewed no witnesses and had access to no documents (except Archbishop Hepworth's accounts) before taking the course he did in the Senate."

"In view of the conclusions that I have come to in my report, it is regrettable that Senator Xenophon took the course he did before an investigation had been concluded."

Senator Xenophon however said the inquiry should not have progressed until Archbishop Hepworth found the process comfortable enough to participate in.

Hepworth had previously accused the Adelaide diocese of delaying the inquiry.

Last night, Monsignor Dempsey said he was "very much relieved that Mr Abbott has discerned the truth regarding the false accusations".

"From the beginning I have categorically denied the accusations, but even though I know of my own innocence it has been a very trying and difficult period of my life," he said.

Sources

• ABC
• Adelaide Now
• The Age
• Image: SMH

As Xenophon rose to speak in Canberra, two nervous priests were watching him via the internet in Adelaide.

Monsignor Ian Dempsey, a Catholic priest for more than 40 years, had spent his day at a holiday home in a seaside suburb trying to pretend his world was unchanged.

And across town, John Hepworth's gut was churning with a mixture of relief and fear as he listened to Xenophon's speech alone in his lounge room. Although the Archbishop and global leader of the 400,000-strong Traditional Anglican Communion had calmly rationalised his decision to go public with his 40-year-old rape claim he was now struggling to cope with its ramifications.

Weeks later, Xenophon is still coming to terms with the tempest he created that day.

Liberal senator Simon Birmingham accused Xenophon of acting as "police, prosecutor, judge and jury". The then South Australian premier Mike Rann derided Xenophon's decision as "the politics of smear and self-aggrandisement over social justice".

Yet Xenophon's decision was also applauded by many.

So what were the circumstances and moral deliberations that drove Xenophon to act?

Continue reading Senator Xenophon, alleged rape and the use of parliamentary privilege.

Image: Daily Telegraph

Adelaide Catholic priest Monsignor Ian Dempsey said it was "totally unfair and unjust" of the independent SA senator to use parliamentary privilege to make the allegation.

Senator Xenophon yesterday said he had acted in good faith and without malice in naming Monsignor Dempsey under parliamentary privilege, but added: "I regret the course of events went down this path," he said.

He claimed that the matter might have played out differently had he known Monsignor Dempsey was about to go on a month's annual leave.

"It would have given an opportunity for there to be a satisfactory outcome without the need to name the priest in question," he said.

"I find it bewildering and extraordinary that no one in the Catholic Church decided to advise me the priest in question was about to go on leave."

Senator Xenophon said he named Monsignor Dempsey because the Church had taken too long to address the rape allegations against him that had emerged four years ago.

The Adelaide Catholic Church has said it was not being tardy. It said Archbishop Hepworth had only this year decided to proceed with his claim.

Last night, the ABC reported an affiliate church in the US had condemned Archbishop Hepworth's plans for the denomination to join the Catholic Church and asked him to resign.

An Anglican Church in America spokesman said only 10 per cent of members supported the Traditional Anglican Communion's proposal to join Rome and said there had been a lack of consultation with the wider church.

The ABC said the church told Archbishop Hepworth in a letter it was no longer possible for him to continue in his current role.

Under the Towards Healing process dealing with abuse claims against the clergy in the Catholic Church, a diocese cannot take action until it is authorised by the complainant. However, the Melbourne archdiocese had already begun an investigation and has offered a formal apology and a financial settlement.

Msgr. Ian Dempsey, publicly named by Senator Xenophon, has denied the charges against him in a letter written to parishoners. He claims he is innocent and that he has suffered ill-health because of the publicity. He has also written to Senator Xenophon accusing him of abusing his position as a senator in publicly accusing him.

The Senate was told last week by Senator Nick Xenophon that Archbishop Hepworth allegedly was raped more than 40 years ago by priest and former Adelaide archdiocese vicar-general Monsignor Ian Dempsey.

Senator Xenophon commenting that six months had passed since the investigation was authorised said, "Whichever way they (the archdiocese) put it they failed to treat serious allegations with the urgency they required".

Archbishop Hepworth says that since the charges of abuse were made public by Senator Xenophon last week, "Nobody from the Church has been in touch with me…not even through a third party."

Archbishop Hepworth has issued an ultimatum to the archdiocese to process the allegations under the same system used in Melbourne by the end of this week or he will pursue a police investigation in to his claims.

The church yesterday said it had encouraged Archbishop Hepworth to go to the police "for a significant period of time".

While Archbishop Hepworth said he had spoken with police on Friday, he said his preference was still to have the allegations dealt with by the church.

"I just needed to tell the story of why I ran away from the church," Archbishop Hepworth said.

Image: Adelaide Now

One of the letters was from Msgr Dempsey and the other from civil libertarian Terry O'Gorman who is urging an investigation into the naming of the priest, describing it as an abuse of privilege.

He has told The Advertiser he believed in a "thorough and fair process".

"As a member of the Senate I should be subject to the scrutiny of the Senate along with every other member," he said.

Senator Hogg can decide whether an inquiry should be established by the privileges committee.

The committee can also consider a request for a person who has been named in Parliament to have a right of reply, where their response is included in Hansard.

Monsignor Dempsey has comprehensively rejected the allegation of rape. He said in a letter to Senator Xenophon responding to the claim "I am innocent of these allegations which you used parliamentary privilege to name me".

"For over forty years I have served with integrity and honour as a Catholic priest ... you irreparably smeared and denigrated my reputation."

Archbishop John Hepworth, the leader of a breakaway Anglican group seeking union with the Catholic Church, alleged that Monsignor Dempsey raped him more than 40 years ago when the two were young priests in their twenties.

He went public in the past fortnight with his claims, alleging that the Adelaide archdiocese of the Catholic Church failed to swiftly resolve the case. In the Senate last Tuesday night, Senator Xenophon named Monsignor Dempsey and criticised the Adelaide archdiocese of the Catholic Church in its handling of the allegations.

Full Article and image: Adelaide Now