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

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

Xenophon dismissed the presumption of innocence in Parliament, saying in his opinion the Adelaide Archdiocese had taken too long to resolve the case, and it did not heed his ultimatum to stand down the priest while the investigation took place.

Xenophon said he felt duty-bound to name the priest, and told an almost empty parliament that "Sexual abuse flourishes because people keep secrets."

No charges

Dempsey has not been charged by the Police nor currently part of a police investigation, reports The Age.

On the ABC's Wednesday AM program, Father Brian Lucas is the general secretary of the Australian Bishops Conference told Tony Eastly the allegations Hepworth made have no relationship to anything involving children.

Lucas also revealed to Eastly that Hepworth has not laid a complaint with the police, which he said was proper place for the matter to be raised.

Archdiocese responds

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Adelaide archdiocese registered its disappointment at Senator Xenophon's action.

"We are appalled that Senator Xenophon has tonight, under cover of parliamentary privilege, released the name of the priest despite being made fully aware of the extremely sensitive and highly complex background to this 50-year-old matter."

"The fact that the senator has taken this action is a matter of grave concern to us and the consequences, in our view, will have an impact on not merely the person accused, but also on Archbishop Hepworth himself. It is grossly unjust and unfair for these matters to be aired in public when our investigation is not yet complete and when the priest concerned has categorically denied the allegation."

"If the priest had been formally charged, which he has not, his name would be suppressed until proof of guilt had been established; and yet this decades-old matter has not even been the subject of a police report. We now have to consider the implications and potential consequences of Senator Xenophon's statement to parliament."

Moving with utmost care and sensitivity

Adelaide archbishop Philip Wilson said the archdiocese had only received approval from Archbishop Hepworth to proceed with the investigation in February.

Since it received the complaint the diocese has been proceeding with "utmost care and sensitivity", the archbishop said.

Wilson said, Vicar General for the archdiocese, Monsignor Cappo had met Archbishop Hepworth at least eight times since 2007.

"On my behalf, Monsignor Cappo urged Archbishop Hepworth, at the end of each meeting, to give his permission to proceed with an investigation into the allegations," Wilson said.

"On each occasion Archbishop Hepworth declined, indicating that he was not in a proper emotional state to deal with an investigation."

Hepworth denies this, saying from the first meeting he had with Monsignor Cappo he gave the Monsignor the 'green light' to proceed.

No stand down

At the fore-front of the investigation, Traditional Anglican Communion Archbishop, John Hepworth, said he wanted to see Dempsey stood down rather than named in the Federal Parliament.

In response Archbishop Wilson said the alleged incident related to a period dating back almost 50 years and was between adults. "It did not involve children" he said.

Fronting the media earlier in the week, Dempsey categorically denied raping Hepworth.

A legal opinion obtained by the archdiocese said any decision to suspend Dempsey would be unjustifiable as a matter of Canon and civil law.

Constitutional lawyer and Vice-Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, Greg Craven said "Parliamentary privilege should not be used as a substitue for trial and conviction."

Craven is of the view that by trying to force conviction, Senator Xenaphon may have stalled it.

Sources

• The Australian
• The Age
• Adelaide Now
• ABC News
• ABC News - AM Interview - MP3
• Image: Adelaide Now

"His proposal does nothing to protect children and flies in the face of a fundamental right of people to practice their religion," Father Lucas said. "No Catholic priest . . . would ever betray a penitent."

"Priests have gone to their death" rather than break the confessional seal, he added.

Xenophon following the lead of Ireland has suggested that priests in Australia should also be forced to break the seal of confession.

"There is no contest when it comes to protecting the innocence of a child or maintaining a religious practice," Xenophon said.

"Why should someone be absolved of their sins ... when it comes to child abuse because they've got a pat on the back from their priest?"

"No church should be complicit in the cover-up of child abuse just so some pedophile can try and clear their conscience," he continued.

"The laws of the land should always trump religious practices. The protection of children should come before any other consideration. Freedom of religion is one thing, but it shouldn't mean anyone is free to ignore their obligations to report this most serious of crimes."

However, Australia's federal Attorney General, Robert McClelland said that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of local state government.

Xenophon responded saying he would write to the attorneys general around Australia seeking support for the idea.

Geelong Catholic priest Father Kevin Dillon said the proposed change could scare offenders away from confession, which otherwise could be a first step towards seeking treatment or surrendering to police.

And he feared the anonymity of the confessional might lead to damaging false identifications.

"For most people, when the confession is heard, the priest would not necessarily be able to identify who the person is anyway," Father Dillon said.

"I could certainly not identify many of the people whose confessions I hear."

Sources

• Life Site News
• Herald-Sun
• Image: Christ's Knights