*Church 'risks credibility' if pedophile remains a priest*

By Roberta Mancuso

October 31, 2007 05:15pm
Article from: AAP

AUSTRALIA - THE Anglican church will lose all credibility if a convicted
pedophile is allowed to remain a priest after he is released from prison
next week, a child protection group says.

Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, of Brisbane, was jailed for 12 months last
November after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy
in Brisbane more than 30 years ago.

The boy played the organ at the same parish when Sharwood seduced him
through their shared love of classical music.

During the two-and-a-half years, Sharwood, then 30, molested the boy up
to three times a week, including when he picked him up after school, at
the rectory, during musical concerts, at their homes and in a car.

Sharwood is due to be released on November 8 after serving one year of a
33-month sentence.

The Brisbane Anglican diocese is holding an investigation into
Sharwood's status and has invited his victim to give evidence, which
could include cross-examination by his abuser.

The diocese's Professional Standards Board began the process last
November, but no further action could be taken once Sharwood was jailed.

A statement released today by Brisbane Anglican Archbishop Phillip
Aspinall said the board, headed by Supreme Court judge Debra Mullins,
had determined that Sharwood should be "given the opportunity to make a
submission before any decision is made on his future" on his release.

Archbishop Aspinall said the investigation was a process that needed to
be undertaken.

But he said his views had not changed since he outlined new principles
in 2002 guiding the church's response to complaints of sexual abuse or
misconduct, which state offenders "will not be permitted to continue to
exercise a ministry which exposes vulnerable people to further harm".

"The families involved deserve closure but we have had to wait for the
legal system to take its course and as a church we also have to ensure
due process," Archbishop Aspinall said in the statement.

"The victim in this case deserves nothing less than a thorough and just
process that arrives at a proper decision and that is what will happen."

Archbishop Aspinall removed Sharwood's licence to operate as a priest in
the diocese in 2002, however the convicted pedophile remains an ordained
minister.

Bravehearts executive director and founder Hetty Johnston said the
church did not need to re-examine the case.

"They just really need to draw a line in the sand and say 'no'," Ms
Johnston said.

"The system that they have at the moment actually re-abuses the victims
and the victims' families."

Ms Johnston any move to allow Sharwood to continue as a priest would do
"enormous amounts of damage" to the Anglican church's credibility.

"This is a classic example of how far they've got to go (when dealing
with child abuse)," Ms Johnston said.

Sharwood spent 17 years as a preacher and teacher at an exclusive
Brisbane private school, which sacked him in 2002 on hearing about the
abuse.