LIFE & STYLE PAGE 25
INSIDE TE PAGE 32
LOCALL NEWS
LOSE WEIGHT WITH WATER
LAGGING IN FRONT
TENSIONS NS IN COUNCIL
PAGE 5
NOVEMBER 21 2012 WWW.NEWCASTLEPOST.COM.AU
PROUDLY INDEPENDENT PH: 49 610 310
“We’ve achieved it� Mother of abuse victim shares her family’s harrowing story TRICIA MOROSIN
LET’S SEE ACTION Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery, has commended Newcastle Council for voting unanimously in support of calling on the State Government to fi nd a solution to the Adamstown level crossing. Labor Councillor, Tim Crakanthorp, and Greens Cr, Therese Doyle, put forward the motion, which will also suggest the RMS look at the placement of electronic signage on Glebe Road to notify drivers when the gates are down.
T
eacher-librarian, Patricia Feenan, always felt that one day she’d write a book. What she never imagined was the heartbreaking circumstances that would lead her to do so. Ms Feenan’s son, Daniel, was raped by Father James Patrick Fletcher and suffered other forms of sexual abuse by the paedophile priest dating back to the late 1980s, when Daniel was between 11 and 12-years-old. Ms Feenan has been campaigning for victims ever since. “People said, ‘You won’t get anywhere with this, don’t do this, you can’t, [it’s] the Catholic Church’...and I just chipped away at what I believed in and look what’s happened through a lot of people working for the same goal and now we’ve achieved it,� Ms Feenan said. Fletcher was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2004, but died after serving only 14 months. Ms Feenan recorded her thoughts during the trial and has been writing about her experience. Next month, these notes will be published in her fi rst book, ‘Holy Hell’. “I’m a bit over-awed,� Ms Feenan said of the attention the book is receiving. “I’ve never written a book before, of course, and it’s not the book I wanted to write, but it’s the one that needed to be written.� The foreword to ‘Holy Hell’ is penned by local whistleblower cop, Detective Chief Inspector, Peter Fox, who investigated Daniel’s case and whose explosive claims led to the Federal Government’s decision to hold a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse. “[Fox] has been very brave in what he’s said and it’s made a difference,� Ms Feenan said. Ms Feenan also wants people to remember good priests during this time, including Bishop of Maitland and Newcastle, Bill Wright, who will attend the book launch alongside her son, Daniel, on December 6. @triciamorosin
PAGE 3
SIGN OF THANKS Locals thank SES volunteers in messages PAGE 4
GOAL IN SIGHT Hockey star closer to her Olympic dream Patricia Feenan holds ‘Holy Hell’, the book she penned about her son’s sexual abuse
PAGE 56
,I \RXÂśYH JRW D FRPSHQVDWLRQ FODLP \RX PD\ EH HQWLWOHG WR D ORW RI PRQH\ EXW DUHQÂśW DZDUH RI \RXU ULJKWV 7KH QXPEHU RI SHRSOH ZKR WKURZ DZD\ WHQV RI WKRXVDQGV RI GROODUV E\ QRW NQRZLQJ WKHLU ULJKWV LV UHDOO\ IULJKWHQLQJ VR WR JHW WKH EHVW UHVXOW SRVVLEOH \RX QHHG D VSHFLDOLVW FRPSHQVDWLRQ ODZ\HU ZLWK D SURYHQ WUDFN UHFRUG ([SHULHQFHG &RPSHQVDWLRQ /DZ\HU .LPEHUOH\ 6KDUSH DQG KHU WHDP DW 7XUQEXOO +LOO /DZ\HUV KDYH VRPH YHU\ LPSRUWDQW WLSV 0DQ\ SHRSOH RIWHQ DFFHSW IURP LQVXUDQFH FRPSDQLHV PXFK OHVV WKDQ WKH\ÂśUH UHDOO\ HQWLWOHG WR PDLQO\ EHFDXVH WKH\ÂśUH QRW DZDUH RI WKHLU IXOO ULJKWV VR LWÂśV LQ \RXU EHVW LQWHUHVWV WR DOZD\V JHW WKH ULJKW OHJDO DGYLFH DQG JHW LW HDUO\ HYHQ RQ WKH VLPSOHVW FODLP
Our Compensation Team has years of experience in these areas of law: ' ! ' ' ! # ' $ "! Kimberley Sharpe ' " $ ' " ! Compensation Lawyer at ' ' ! " ! ' !& " Turnbull Hill Lawyers 1HYHU DFFHSW ZKDW WKH RWKHU SDUW\ RU WKHLU LQVXUDQFH FRPSDQ\ RIIHUV \RX ZLWKRXW ÂżUVW JHWWLQJ ' " " ! ! # ! RXU DGYLFH RXU H[SHULHQFH LV WKDW WKH LQVXUDQFH FRPSDQ\ RU RWKHU SDUW\ ZLOO RIIHU \RX PXFK ' # ! ! " ! & OHVV WKDQ \RXÂśUH UHDOO\ HQWLWOHG WR
NO WIN NO FEE - simple conditions apply 7R ÂżQG RXW H[DFWO\ ZKHUH \RX VWDQG DQG ZKDW FRPSHQVDWLRQ \RX PLJKW EH HQWLWOHG WR FDOO .LPEHUOH\ QRZ IRU D )5(( LQLWLDO QR REOLJDWLRQ FRQÂżGHQWLDO FKDW RQ RU DIWHU KRXUV RQ <RXÂśYH JRW DEVROXWHO\ QRWKLQJ WR ORVH