Vatican 'in fear' of NZ abuse inquiry - whistleblower

An international Catholic whistleblower says the Vatican will be "quaking in fear" in case the New Zealand Catholic Church is included in an inquiry into state abuse. The government has repeatedly stated it wants to leave Churches and other non-state institutions out of the upcoming Royal Commission into abuse. Father Tom Doyle of Virginia in the United States, says that will suit New Zealand's bishops and priests very well. The one-time canon lawyer first blew the whistle on the global abuse scandal in 1984 and his work featured in the Academy Award-winning film Spotlight. He told reporter Phil Pennington that of the dozen-plus abuse inquiries he's been involved in, he's never seen one that's limited like New Zealand's. The communications advisor to the New Zealand Catholic Bishops, Amanda Gregan, says she is not aware if the Vatican has told local Bishops not to lobby to be included in the Royal Commission. RNZ has had no response to repeated requests for New Zealand Cardinal John Dew to publicly state whether he will ask the Government to do this.