Australian abuse commission will recall elderly bishop for questioning
March 02, 2016
A retired Australian bishop is being recalled to testify before an Australian royal commission on sexual abuse, despite the fact that he is terminally ill.
Bishop Ronald Mulkearns, who led the Diocese of Ballarat from 1971 to 1997, has become the focus of the commission's investigation into the handling of complaints against Gerald Ridsdale, a notorious ex-priest. The commission has decided to question him again after hearing Cardinal George Pell testify that Bishop Mulkearns did not disclose his reasons for transferring Ridsdale to new assignments.
Bishop Mulkearns, who retired at the age of 66-- well before the normal retirement age of 75-- is now 85, and suffers from cancer. He is confined to a nursing home, and doctors say that he will only be able to testify for short periods of time, separated by several days of rest.
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