By Joel Gibson, Erik Jensen and Arjun Ramachandran
Sydney Morning Herald
July 9, 2008
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/my-innocent-error-pells-abuse-defence/2008/07/08/1215282835430.html
THE Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, yesterday denied he covered up abuse by a Sydney priest, Father Terence Goodall, as new claims emerged about what he knew of the priest's history of sexual assault.
Documents aired by the ABC's Lateline last night showed Cardinal Pell received a church psychosexual report in July 2003 that said Father Goodall had also abused a 16-year-old girl, propositioned two seminary students, invited altar boys to strip naked while swimming and had consensual sex with another man in 1996.
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| "No cover-up" … Cardinal Pell yesterday. He said his letter was badly worded. Photo by Peter Morris |
At a news conference yesterday, Cardinal Pell refused to stand aside or resign over his treatment of a 2003 sexual assault claim by a Lismore man, Anthony Jones. Church documents show Cardinal Pell rejected Mr Jones's assault claims despite advice from a church investigator that said they should be substantiated. He also told Mr Jones that no other allegations of sexual assault had been made against Father Goodall. But on the same day Cardinal Pell wrote to another victim upholding his claims against the priest.
Cardinal Pell did not inform Mr Jones of his mistake despite a July 2003 church report that Father Goodall was guilty of other assaults, had a "lack of victim empathy" and was likely to reoffend.
Cardinal Pell said yesterday he had not contacted Mr Jones after realising he had misrepresented the investigator's findings, but he considered the matter closed.
He said "there was no cover-up". His letter was "badly worded and a mistake", "an innocent error" and an "overstatement".
Three months later, Cardinal Pell wrote to Mr Jones again. He made no attempt to correct his previous letter, and maintained that: "In the end it is a matter of your word against his."
Late last night the church's director of professional standards, answering questions put to Cardinal Pell, said Mr Jones was not told of the psychosexual report because it was a medical document and could not be released under privacy laws. He said the other assaults were revealed in interviews in June 2003 but victims were not named, and none had come forward.
Father Goodall resigned on July 25, 2003, at Cardinal Pell's request. Cardinal Pell had threatened to use church law to remove him.
The archbishop admitted yesterday that his error was an embarrassing revelation a week before World Youth Day. But he defended his record in dealing with sexual abuse by clergy, saying he was the first to set up diocesan protocols in Melbourne in 1996.
He said his position on Mr Jones's assault had been validated by a subsequent criminal case where the prosecution did not allege sexual assault. Father Goodall was convicted in that case of two counts of indecent assault.
Cardinal Pell said he had apologised to Mr Jones for "personal difficulties" in his life.
Mr Jones said yesterday Cardinal Pell was "dishonest" and had caused him two nervous breakdowns. He said his actions had undermined an expected apology from the Pope to Australian abuse victims next week.
His civil action against Cardinal Pell and Father Goodall was settled after it reached the Supreme Court last month. It stopped Mr Jones from pursuing compensation, covered his legal fees, and included a confidentiality clause, later removed.
"The church has thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars funding this. Now Cardinal Pell comes out really angelic, saying, 'I made a mistake when writing it,"' Mr Jones said. "I'm on a disability pension. I mortgaged my house for justice. And I still haven't got justice. They're still lying to me."
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