By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
IT COMES as a surprise to former Journal reporter Phil McLeod that his breaking story on the scandalised Holy Family parish priest Father Searson nearly had immediate effect 29 years ago.
On 27 October 1986, Mr McLeod broke the news that Doveton’s Holy Family parishioners and parents at a rare public meeting demanded Father Peter Searson leave his post.
It took another decade for that to happen, despite numerous damning allegations to police and senior Catholic clergy.
These claims included sexual abuse of boys and girls in the confession box and his car, a request to conduct an exorcism, wielding an illegal firearm at boy cleaners, showing children a dead body in a coffin, killing a baby bird with a screwdriver and flinging a cat by its tail to its death.
What few knew was that a week after the Journal’s report, Fr Searson had requested to be transferred from the Doveton parish.
In the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, minutes from an archbishop’s personnel advisory board meeting on 5 November recorded Fr Searson’s request.
However, then Archbishop Frank Little declined the transfer because he deemed there was no suitable parish for Fr Searson to go to.
“Really? I’d never heard that before,” Mr McLeod said, speaking to the Journal nearly 30 years after his first story.
“At the time, the school and the parish were split 50:50. Half of them couldn’t believe he’d do anything wrong. They said he was a beautiful man – but it was just blind faith.
“Priests were untouchable so it was a big move.”
In Mr McLeod’s first report, Fr Searson told him he refused to resign, declaring there was “no truth or substance” to the undescribed allegations.
Mr McLeod recalls a palpable fear that the Catholic Church or Fr Searson could sue the paper.
He had heard gossip at the time about the priest’s offending but it wasn’t detailed in his initial report and his byline was absent.
It was hard getting people to speak on the record against Fr Searson at the time, Mr McLeod said.
An unnamed teacher reportedly told Mr McLeod that Fr Searson was “a timebomb ready to go off especially after the principal resigned without warning”.
The teacher described the parish school’s principal Graeme Sleeman as a “buffer for everyone”.
At the time, Mr Sleeman didn’t comment to the Journal on his reasons for resigning.
At the Royal Commission, it became clear how hard Mr Sleeman lobbied for his boss Fr Searson’s removal to senior clergy and the Catholic Education Office.
At one stage, he gave the ultimatum to Archbishop Little that the parish priest had to go or he would.
In the end, it was Mr Sleeman who made way.
A week after Mr McLeod’s first report, the Journal reported that the Catholic Church did not want to take direct action against Fr Searson.
Regional bishop at the time, Fr Hilton Deakin, told the Journal: “Any talk of resignation is a decision which is in Fr Searson’s hands.”
Now a Bishop Emeritus, Fr Hilton Deakin, told the Royal Commission he was sorry for any action or neglect that contributed to the “hurt”.
He told of being phoned by Archbishop Little to go to the public meeting at Doveton about “serious” complaints.
“I was green, I hadn’t done any of this sort of work before ever, but I do remember talks about Searson.
“Not about his sexuality but that he was – what’s the word – psychotic.”
Mr McLeod said that some of the now-apologetic clergy’s sentiments to the Royal Commission were too little, too late.
“They should have done something 30 years ago.”
