‘Red flags everywhere’: high court asks Catholic church why it didn’t investigate priest’s abuse 50 years ago

High court of Australia is considering a NSW court’s permanent stay in a case brought by a woman who alleges she was abused as a 14-year-old

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The high court has pressed the Catholic church to explain why it didn’t have an adequate opportunity 50 years ago to investigate the extent of a priest’s abuse of children, given there were “red flags everywhere” about his crimes.

The court on Thursday began hearing a key case about a legal tactic now routinely being employed by the church and other institutions to permanently shield themselves from abuse survivors’ civil claims for compensation.

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