Thirty years ago this coming weekend, The Sunday Times fully exposed paedophile priest Reverend Michael Roderick Painter for the first time. 

Painter had been an Anglican priest in Perth and beyond since the early 60s.  

He was revered for his charisma and charm, his pastoral skill, his common touch, and was adored by his parishioners and fellow clergy alike. 

So much so that when it emerged that he had been accused of – and then admitted – sexually abusing a 16 year-old boy, his church elders could seemingly not do enough to support him. 

Until he ended his own life on the same day as his name appeared on the front page, in June 1994. 

Despite being a self-confessed paedophile, Archbishop Peter Carnley led a public outcry against the newspaper, for their “exaggerated distortions” in reporting the court outcome. 

He clearly claimed the reporting had contributed to Painter’s suicide.  

Three decades on from that report, another article will appear in The Sunday Times this weekend about Reverend Michael Painter. 

It will reveal that finally, the Anglican Church has now finally admitted that Painter was not just a “fleeting” offender – he was the most prolific paedophile priest WA’s Anglican church has ever had. 

But it will also show that despite their own admissions, the church is still fighting his victims every step of the way. 

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