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Bishop Michael Malone gave paedophile James Fletcher access to hundreds of children when he ­doubled the size of the priest’s Lochinvar parish six weeks after he was accused of sexually abusing a boy, a Hunter church abuse inquiry heard on Thursday. Detective Chief Inspector Fox told the special commission of inquiry that the former Maitland-Newcastle Diocese bishop “defied” his request to have Fletcher removed from the parish and placed in an “office role” during the investigation. The former Maitland policeman, who was leading the 2003 investigation into Fletcher, said he told Bishop Malone: “I cannot force you to do that but I would ask you to give consideration to it.” Chief Inspector Fox said Fletcher had access to two more schools when the Lochinvar and Branxton parishes were merged and he was concerned the priest was running private reading classes with children. He said, at the time, he hoped the bishop would place the concerns of the community and the “safety of children above a resource shortage”. Earlier this week, Chief Inspector Fox said he believed Bishop Malone hindered the investigation by forewarning Fletcher he had been accused of sexual assault and the identity of the complainant. He said Bishop Malone “robbed” investigators of their “element of surprise” which led to the destruction of critical evidence. Chief Inspector Fox did not believe Bishop Malone’s statement, which said he was concerned about Fletcher’s reaction to the allegations and had visited the Lochinvar parish in 2002 to check on his welfare. Wrapping up two days of heavy cross-examination, Bishop Malone’s barrister, Simon Harben SC, told the police officer he had no basis for the claim – putting to him that he did not know if Bishop Malone was the most caring or least caring man on earth. Chief Inspector Fox again came under fire from Mr Harben, who said he failed to properly follow a line of inquiry that led detectives to unearth the offences of another priest, Denis McAlinden, more than a decade later. The inquiry heard that in 2002, Chief Inspector Fox questioned retired Bishop Leo Clarke about a rumour that he had knowledge of more than one of McAlinden’s victims. Chief Inspector Fox said he considered it a “brush off” and “dead end” when the late bishop told him: “No, you would have to ask Michael Malone about that.” Other detectives who followed up with Bishop Malone a decade later were allowed access to church documents that revealed knowledge of McAlinden’s offending as far back as 1953. Bishop Michael Malone is expected to respond to Chief Inspector Fox’s claims when he takes to the witness stand on Friday.

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