Potential witness in Exclusive Brethren sex abuse case paid to remain silent
The Exclusive Brethren church has been covering up child sex abuse for decades, and last year I wrote about it. The story told of children who were denied, bullied or bought off by the religious sect to keep their abuse secret.
The main source for the story was the Brethren's former spokesman, Tony McCorkell.
A towering, flawed mountain of a man, McCorkell went nervously on the record with me, breaking ranks a decade after leaving the church and confessing to the role he had played in the history of cover-ups. It was a role that ate at his conscience.
What was not clear at the time, to either McCorkell or me, was how far the Exclusive Brethren would go to continue resist the truth being told.
The Exclusive Brethren is a Christian-based religious sect that former members say is a cult. Led by multi-millionaire Sydney businessman Bruce D. Hales, it hides from public scrutiny. Its members will not eat, form friendships or communicate with outsiders, except to do business with them or to lobby conservative politicians.
It d
onates freely, but secretly, to the Liberal Party, even though its members do not vote. It splits families, denies children the opportunity to go to university and minimises its tax payments. Hales recently recommended one member take arsenic or rat poison rather than communicate with his own family members.
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http://www.smh.com.au/national/potential-witness-in-exclusive-brethren-sex-abuse...