Australian Cleric Reopens Sex Abuse Case, Associated Press, July 11, 2008

Australian Cleric Reopens Sex Abuse Case

Associated Press
July 11, 2008

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hZ0pJBdvMuTAHpqXr7hqqlt8KChAD91RC7000

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Australia's top Roman Catholic cleric reopened an investigation Thursday into a 25-year-old sexual abuse case, revisiting a scandal two days before Pope Benedict XVI arrives for a visit.

Cardinal George Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, referred the case to an independent panel, the church said in a statement, after nearly a week of media reports that questioned Pell's earlier handling of the case.

Cardinal George Pell gestures during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, July 8, 2008. Australia's top Roman Catholic cleric on Tuesday denied trying to cover up a case of clergy abuse and misleading the victim, fighting off an embarrassing scandal just days before Pope Benedict XVI arrives for a visit.
Photo by Paul Miller

Pell came under fire earlier this week for a 2003 letter he sent to Anthony Jones in which he dismissed Jones' complaint of rape against Father Terrence Goodall despite a church investigation that upheld the allegations.

Pell said Tuesday that his 2003 letter was "badly worded" but stood by his conclusion that no rape had occurred. He said he based his decision on Jones' age at the time of the alleged rape — he was 29 — and Goodall's insistence that the act had been consensual.

Jones later took his complaint to criminal court, and in 2005 Goodall pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of indecent assault but served no time in prison. The church removed him as a priest.

But Australian Broadcasting Corp. television on Wednesday broadcast police phone taps that recorded Goodall saying a sexual encounter with Jones was not consensual, adding to the pressure on Pell.

The new church investigation would look into the recently released tapes to determine whether Goodall may in fact have raped Jones.

Goodall has not spoken publicly about the scandal and was not available for comment, with his whereabouts unknown. Church officials were not immediately available for comment Friday morning.

"Although the complaints of Mr. Anthony Jones have been dealt with by the Church, the criminal court and the civil court, out of consideration for Mr. Jones, Cardinal George Pell has formally referred the matters raised this week to an independent consultative panel established under Towards Healing protocols," the church's statement said.

Towards Healing is a church initiative to address sexual abuse.

Jones, now 54, told the church in 2002 that he was sexually abused by Goodall 20 years previously as a young parishioner.

Jones' lawyer, Peter Karp, said the abuse case against Goodall had been going for too long, and his client wanted "resolution now."

The archbishop said this week that civil claims by Jones were resolved "by mutual consent" in the Supreme Court two weeks ago. He did not give details.

Pell said the church was willing to offer compensation and counseling to Jones, but not the more than $3 million he had asked for.

The latest church scandal in Australia comes ahead of the arrival Saturday of Pope Benedict in Sydney for a visit that will extend to July 20.

Pell said Monday that the pope was likely to apologize to victims of sexual abuse during his visit to Australia, as he did earlier this year in the United States.

Clergy sex abuse has surfaced in high-profile cases during the past couple of decades and has become a public issue in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia and elsewhere.