BishopAccountability.org
	Defiant George Pell Not Quitting By Vincent Morello Herald Sun July 09, 2008 http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23991446-662,00.html [with link for voting on whether the pope should apologise to victims of child abuse at the hands of the clergy] AUSTRALIA'S top Catholic yesterday refused to stand down over allegations that he had tried to cover up sexual abuse by a priest. Cardinal George Pell, who is preparing to welcome the Pope to Australia on Sunday, said he was embarrassed by the claims that he'd misled a sex abuse victim about the church's investigation of Fr Terrence Goodall, but "there was no cover-up". Dr Pell signed a 2003 letter to Anthony Jones, which said that his sexual abuse allegations had not been substantiated and the church had not received any other complaints against Fr Goodall. However, an internal church investigation had found the abuse claims substantiated, ABC's Lateline said, and another letter Dr Pell signed the same day had informed a second man, who'd been a child victim, that his allegations against Fr Goodall were substantiated. Dr Pell said yesterday the letter to Mr Jones was "badly worded and a mistake", but his "overstatement . . . was an innocent error". "I signed both letters . . . and any fault in the drafting was mine," the Sydney Archbishop said. "There was no attempt to mislead him. I apologise for the confusion caused to Mr Jones. "The accusations against Fr Goodall were investigated by the church and the police, and Fr Goodall was stood down. Church authorities fully co-operated at every stage." Dr Pell said he'd accepted everything in a report by a former police officer whom the church had hired to investigate the allegations by both victims, "except that I did not believe that there was sufficient evidence to say it was rape". Dr Pell said that his original letter to Mr Jones had been intended to convey there was "no other allegation of rape". But Mr Jones, now 54, said yesterday that he'd never accused Fr Goodall of raping him. "I was worried he was going to, but he certainly sexually assaulted me," he said. "Cardinal Pell is being deceitful. He's not being truthful." In 2005, Fr Goodall was convicted of indecent assault in NSW over Mr Jones's allegations, which dated back to 1982, when Mr Jones was a 29-year-old trainee teacher. Dr Pell said that at one point Mr Jones was suing the church for $3.5 million, a claim he said was "a bit excessive". Mr Jones said of the lawsuit that last month he'd "agreed to walk away from it: they wouldn't sue me for their fees, and I wouldn't continue to sue them. I just realised I was wasting my time." Dr Pell said yesterday he'd written to Mr Jones soon after the original letter and "expressed my sorrow at what Mr Jones had suffered and offered to meet him". A church representative said church sex abuse victims were offered counselling and compensation, typically $10,000-$200,000. Mr Jones, now a disability pensioner, said any apology from Pope Benedict XVI, who arrives in Sydney on Sunday for World Youth Day, would be pointless. "What's the point of an apology when the senior-ranking titled cleric in the Catholic Church of Australia is still covering up sex abuse?" "I believe Cardinal Pell should resign. And I think people should call for his resignation."
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