Father Thomas Brennan

Father Thomas Brennan was a Catholic priest of the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese in New South Wales. He served in several senior positions during his career, including as principal of St Pius X Catholic High School at Adamstown and later as Vicar General of the diocese.

Principal at St Pius X High School

During the late 1970s, Father Brennan was principal of St Pius X Catholic High School in Adamstown, Newcastle.

Police later alleged that two boys reported they had been sexually assaulted by another priest, referred to in court proceedings as "Father X". According to the allegations, Brennan failed to report the offences to police or other civil authorities. Police also alleged that he caned the two boys after they disclosed the abuse.

Because the alleged offences occurred before changes to New South Wales law in 1990, Brennan was later charged with the historical common law offence of misprision of felony (failing to disclose knowledge of a serious crime). That offence was replaced in 1990 by concealment offences under Section 316 of the Crimes Act.

Senior Roles in the Diocese

Father Brennan continued in ministry and later served as Vicar General of the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese from 2005 to 2008, making him the bishop's chief administrator.

In August 2008, Bishop Michael Malone described Brennan to the Newcastle Herald as his "right-hand man" and said, "He's the bishop when I'm away."

There was no suggestion that Bishop Malone was aware at that time of the allegations that would later be made against Brennan.

After completing his term as Vicar General, Brennan served as parish priest in the Lake Macquarie area until his retirement in 2011.

2009 Conviction

In 2009, Father Brennan was convicted of making a false statement to police after denying that he had known about allegations against "Father X". Police successfully argued that victims had, in fact, reported the abuse allegations to Brennan.

Criminal Charges in 2012

On 30 August 2012, the New South Wales Police charged the then 74-year-old Brennan with multiple criminal offences.

The charges included:

• Two counts of misprision of felony for allegedly failing to report the child sexual abuse committed by "Father X" against two boys at St Pius X High School in the late 1970s.

• Ten counts alleging the sexual assault of a young male during the early 1980s while Brennan was parish priest at Waratah, near Newcastle.

The charges were laid by Detective Sergeant Kristi Faber of Lake Macquarie Detectives.

The case attracted national attention because it was believed to be the first prosecution in Australia of a Catholic priest for allegedly failing to report another priest's child sexual abuse to civil authorities.

Court Proceedings

Father Brennan was directed to appear before Newcastle Local Court on 25 September 2012.

When the matter was called, the court was informed that Brennan was too ill to attend, and the hearing was adjourned until 31 October 2012.

Death

On 30 September 2012, five days after the scheduled court appearance, Father Thomas Brennan died.

Because criminal proceedings cannot continue after the death of a defendant, all charges against Brennan were automatically discontinued and the case did not proceed to trial.

As a result, the allegations against Brennan were never tested in court and no findings of guilt or innocence were made in relation to the 2012 charges.