Melbourne Vicar-General Bishop Les Tomlinson has
confirmed that two priests Melbourne priests guilty of sexual abuse have
been removed from the priesthood, reports the Age.
One priest, Paul Pavlou, formerly of Healesville, was defrocked by
the Vatican, while the other, Barry Whelan, was laicised - made a layman
- at his own request, reportedly so he could get married.
In the Magistrates Court two years ago, Pavlou admitted indecent acts
against a 14-year-old boy and possessing child pornography, and was
given an 18-month suspended jail sentence.
In Whelan's case, the Melbourne Archdiocese has compensated at least
three vulnerable women whom it agreed Whelan took advantage of or
abused.
One woman bore him a child.
Bishop Tomlinson said
neither had been acting as a priest in Melbourne for a long time. ''When
serious allegations are made against a priest, especially if they
involve charges by the police, the priest is stood down,'' he said.
Advocate Helen Last, of In Good Faith, who has worked with some
Whelan victims, said: ''This is an important decision. Victims have been
calling for the defrocking of their clerical offenders for a long
time."