Lawyers for Marist Brothers face questions over advice to keep serial offender out of ‘legal arena’

A once-confidential letter says child sexual abuser might implicate senior church officials if allowed near ‘the legal arena’ upon his release from jail

Lawyers from a leading law firm for the Marist Brothers have been subpoenaed to explain a once-confidential document showing they advised the Catholic order to keep a serial offender out of “the legal arena”, suggesting he was too honest and might implicate senior church officials.

The offender was “regrettably up front” about his interactions with senior leadership, and could not be trusted to heed “suggestions” about “not dumping on others excessively”, the document says.

The Marist Brothers, a Catholic order, holds a shocking clergy abuse record and was found by the royal commission to have shuffled religious brothers across its network of Australian schools when complaints arose…