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Former Victoria Police detective Denis Ryan a hero of child abuse inquiry

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Imagine in this age of instant gratification, having to wait for something, anything for 45 years. Then think what it must be like to have to wait so long for something as fundamental as the truth.

Former Victoria Police detective, Denis Ryan, turned 86 last month.

In 1972, he was forced out of the Victoria Police Force after trying to bring the pedophile priest, Monsignor John Day, to justice.

Forty years later, Denis came to my home and together we wrote the book of that appalling story, Unholy Trinity: The Hunt for the Pedophile Priest Monsignor John Day”.

At the time I cautioned Denis about setting his expectations too high. The subject material of the book was so disturbing I doubted it would be a bestseller. To publisher Allen & Unwin’s credit they published anyway.

Full; column published here.

449 Comments

  • Milton says:

    Trivalve – in case you were wondering I did notice that you tipped against Chelsea last night!

    Penny – I did reply to your post re Jerusalem etc but a few of my posts of late have gone into space. Not worth me going over it again.

    • Trivalve says:

      Every time they lose, I’ll be on the money

    • Penny. says:

      That’s fine Milton. I’m getting sick of talking about it anyway. It is a subject close to my heart though as I have spoken to a lot of people from all sides who have experienced the results of a very sloppy British strategy with regard to Palestine. I am a keen student of the history of the Middle East/North Africa and have been privy to a lot of documentation which outlines the various policies regarding the region.
      On a lighter note have you noticed JTI is ahead of us in the EPL tipping?

  • Boadicea says:

    I would say that Gillard’s achievement in her time as PM would be the RC into sexual abuse.

  • Dismayed says:

    Razor says:December 12, 2017 at 7:30 pm. “Sorry Wraith but you need to polish up on your WW2 history. Blah blah” HAHAHAHA the world started in 1939 did it? Razor you need to polish up on your history. Your mate Jesus was born in Roman controlled Palestine. some 2000 years ago. Being a “hawk” on the ME maybe you should remove the bag covering your eyes.

    • Razor says:

      What are you gibbering about? Wraith was talking about WW2, I replied. You truly need help.

      • Dismayed says:

        Razor your usual weasel words in an attempt to weasel out. Wraith stated Palestine was around long before Israel. You then started talking about Nazi’s and WW2. You seem to have the same short term memory issues as Yvonne. Oh here are your words. “Sorry Wraith but you need to polish up on your WW2 history. Read about the Arab League and the Nazi’s, Jewish aid to the British and subsequent betrayal. There’s much much more.” Wraith was correct you were wrong and now just doing your usual obfuscation act. No Surprises. Wraith did mention the Lighthorse charges but that was not WW2? was it? HAHAHA

    • Razor says:

      Interesting you assume to know what my religious beliefs are……….my my we are a little man.

      • Dismayed says:

        HAHAHAHA as usual the razor con has to go the man. you have been proven wrong and resort to your usual personal vitriol. No surprises. HAHAHAHA

  • Dismayed says:

    Funding to the Environment and biodiversity has been slashed by 60% under the coalition. Land clearing is happening at a faster rate than in Brazil. The Nations Emissions are at record high levels, That is what happens when the government pay polluters to continue to pollute. More money wasted on projects that had been running for 10 years. Record number of heat waves, Deny deny deny is a way of life for the coalition and its supporters. No Surprises. Supporters of the coalition should hang their heads in shame.

  • Bill Grieve says:

    What the hell has happened with this blog , the standard of the comments has hit rock bottom , it seems to me that it’s been taken over by bogans and the uneducated riff raff , where are the comments from the educated class , even the poetry is ridiculous…

  • Trivalve says:

    Scarifying Jack. What did the Foster family do to deserve all that?

  • Henry Blofeld says:

    Your show “Undeniable”, Mr Insider for anyone who missed it. Cheers
    http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/undeniable/NS1755V001S00

  • Rhys Needham says:

    Just watched that extraordinary Undeniable programme on the ABC as well, and what I took out of it is:

    One hopes that any of those surviving elders of those organisations that came before all the Inquiries and Commissions should have the wherewithal and conscience to take an almighty look at themselves and their actions and inactions and other behaviour, including their public statements to the survivors often essentially blaming them for their own maltreatment, and the often grotesque, piddling, and inadequate alleged attempts at either restitution, compensation, or hush money. Particularly if the maltreatment has cascaded through the generations of victims and survivors as well.

    I wouldn’t be at all unhappy to see the Fosters get something like Victorian and/or Australian of the Year for their tireless advocacy through the kind of repeated tragedies that might have crushed the rest of us.

    I also would think it a miracle if I believed in the supernatural that one or more of the survivors hasn’t taken the law into their own hands in the face of the the often grotesque actions and inactions of the churches and other institutions, the police, courts, governments, and more in the face of the child abuse epidemics.

  • BASSMAN says:

    A great delivery on YOUR ABC. I don’t watch much TV…footy and Bradman but this was riveting stuff and I don’t mind saying there were times when I had to turn away. Really, I don’t think the Catholic church will ever recover from this. Instead of the Looters spending hundreds of millions on worthless RC’s chasing Bill, Julia , Pink Batts and unions, why the hell didn’t they get their teeth into something as heavy as this and do some good in the community? The cover up by supposedly the most respected-cops and the clergy was blatantly unforgivable. Just move them on to start all over again. It is a shame that many wholesome priests and clergy will cop a heap off the fan. No parent will ever trust a priest or leave their child with a priest again.

  • Dismayed says:

    Good to see the learned Professor calling out the coalitions hypocrisy on identity politics. As it has been noted and is recognised as fact by thinking people, if the cons cant scare and use fear and smear on the electorate they have NOTHING. No Surprises.
    https://theconversation.com/how-conservatives-use-identity-politics-to-shut-down-debate-89026

    • Jean Baptiste says:

      Absolutely Dismayed. That great fraud Turnbull claiming , repeatedly and passionately that the two elected indigenous members represented indigenous people, inferring sufficiently, as a whole, was disgraceful and clearly offensive to those trying to pin him down for a satisfactory response.

      Give ’em heaps

    • Razor says:

      I think we all know who the champions of identity politics are and it ain’t the ‘Cons’.

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