Frank Little

Sir Thomas Francis Little KBE (30 November 1925 – 7 April 2008) was an Australian bishop. He was the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne. He was appointed by Pope Paul VI on 1 July 1974 and retired in 1996; he was succeeded by the Most Reverend George Pell (as he was styled at the time). On retirement he was styled Archbishop Emeritus in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that Little had led a culture of secrecy in the Melbourne archdiocese designed to hide complaints against several priests and protect the church's reputation from scandal.

Life and career Early life and background Little's father, Gerald Thompson Little, was a surveyor and engineer and his mother was Kathleen Annie McCormack. Both were from metropolitan Melbourne. Little was educated at St Columba's School, Essendon, then at St Monica's Christian Brothers College, Moonee Ponds. He completed his secondary education as a boarder at St Patrick's College, Ballarat.

In the 1977 Silver Jubilee honours he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). On 10 April 1992 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in theology by the Melbourne College of Divinity, particularly for his work for ecumenism and theological education in the archdiocese.

In 2013, the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into abuse of children was told by Archbishop Denis Hart that Little had covered up paedophile priests and moved them to other parishes where they would abuse again.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse concluded that Little had "dismissed or ignored serious allegations of child sexual abuse against a number of priests" between 1974 and 1996.

St Patrick's College in Ballarat has stated that it would remove Little's name from a building which had been named in his honour and revoke his status as an inducted "Legend of the College".

Death Little died in April 2008 and was buried in the crypt of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.