In order to get more accurate results, our search has the following Google-Type search functionality:
If you use '+' in front of a word, then that word will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry +Potter will return results with the word 'Potter'.
If you use '-' in front of a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry -Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
If you use 'AND' between two words, then both of those words will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry AND Potter will return results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'OR' between two words, then bth of those words may or may not be present in the search results.
ex: Harry OR Potter will return results with just 'Harry', results with just 'Potter' and results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'NOT' before a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry NOT Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
Placing '""' around words will perform a phrase search. The search results will contain those words in that order.
ex: "Harry Potter" will return any results with 'Harry Potter' in them, but not 'Potter Harry'.
Using '*' in a word will perform a wildcard search. The '*' signifies any number of characters. Searches can not start with a wildcard.
ex: Pot*er will return results with words starting with 'Pot' and ending in 'er'. In this case, 'Potter' will be a match.
When Senior NSW Police Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox told the ABC's Lateline programme on November 8, 2012, that the Catholic Church had covered up crimes by paedophile priests, silenced investigations and destroyed crucial evidence to avoid prosecution, the public outrage that ensued triggered a Royal Commission, possibly the biggest ever held in Australian history, into institutional child abuse. One of the cases of Church interference Fox outlined was that of Patricia Feenan's son, Daniel, who was a young altar boy when he was first raped by a priest in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese. For several years Daniel endured horrific abuse by the priest, who was later found guilty of nine charges of sexual abuse of a minor in a public criminal trial in 2004. One of the many shocking aspects of the case was how the priest, a close family friend, set about secretly grooming his altar boy victim. Patricia writes with raw honesty of her and her son's terrible ordeal. Of the scars that linger and of the callous, often cruel ostracism and denial they encountered from the Catholic community for seeking to bring a paedophile priest to justice.
About the Author In his moving introduction to Holy Hell, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox describes Patricia Feenan as "an extraordinary woman who never gave up the struggle to rescue her family from the terrible abyss of despair created by a paedophile priest." Patricia Feenan is described as a strong and resilient woman. She has needed to be. Mother of four sons, a grandmother and teacher, she decided to write this story as a testament to her eldest son's courage in giving evidence against a paedophile priest. Raised in a traditional Catholic family, she was totally unprepared for the shock of denial and ostracism by the church community. An advocate for victims of clergy sexual abuse, she is committed to making sure that her family's lonely experience will never be repeated. Her mantra? "He picked the wrong woman's son to abuse!"