THE head of the Catholic order of the Vincentians will contact Papua New Guinea church officials after local police launched an investigation of “touching” complaints by school students against an Australian priest.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Father Greg Brett said he had no knowledge of allegations against Australian Vincentian priest Neil Lams that had been reported to PNG police in the Alotau district in eastern PNG.
Port Stephens woman Wendy Stein, who runs a Rotary-backed family planning project in PNG, reported allegations by Alotau students to police after they were first raised with Alotau Vincentian Bishop Rolando Santos in March.
Students alleged the priest held a teenage girl on his lap, “cuddled” some girls and bought gifts for them, touched girls on the thighs during confession, asked them questions about whether they had sex with their boyfriends and “how many times”, slapped some students on the head and called others “sweet baby”.
Father Lams told the Newcastle Herald “the allegations are at present based on gossip and I am not guilty of any criminal activity in any way”.
Bishop Santos said the priest conceded he touched students on the leg during confession but denied the priest “caressed their thighs to get personal satisfaction”.
Father Brett said he was contacted by Australian Federal Police late last year after the PNG Catholic Church launched an investigation into an earlier allegation against Father Lams involving a teenage girl at Port Moresby. Bishop Santos told the Herald there was “no truth to the allegation”.
Father Brett said he was unaware of recent allegations but was concerned they breached the Vincentian code of conduct and “we don’t stand for that at all”.
In June Father Brett delivered an apology to former students of the Vincentian’s St Stanislaus College at Bathurst who had been sexually abused by the order’s priests and brothers. The apology included acknowledgement of “a number of potential risks to children in the delivery of ministry” in places like PNG, Fiji and the Solomons.