A Catholic priest in Australia has apologised to the family of Jill Meagher after he told primary school children the Irish woman that if she had been “more faith-filled” she would have been at home in bed the night she was raped and murdered.

An official in the Catholic Church in Australia has apologised after a priest said murdered Irishwoman Jill Meagher would have been “home in bed” the night she was killed had her religious faith been stronger.