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	Australian Church Reviews Sex Abuse Allegation As Pope Visits By Ed Johnson Bloomberg July 11, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=asvx6Bmv_wdA&refer=australia July 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Catholic Church in Australia said it is reviewing allegations of sexual assault by a priest more than 20 years ago, as victims of abuse called for Pope Benedict XVI to issue an apology during his visit to Sydney. Cardinal George Pell has referred the case to an "independent consultative panel" chaired by a former Supreme Court judge, according to an e-mailed statement late yesterday. The allegation involves a former church education coordinator who says he was sexually assaulted by a priest in 1982 when he was aged 29. While the priest was suspended and convicted in court, Pell acknowledged this week he had made mistakes in dealing with the complaint. The case has shone a spotlight on the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy as the 81-year-old pontiff prepares to visit Sydney next week for World Youth Day. Australian support group Broken Rites says it has been contacted by more than 3,500 people in the past two decades complaining of church-related abuse and wants the pope to apologize during his visit. The Melbourne-based group plans to hold a vigil tomorrow and three minutes of silence "in memory of the victims who have lost their lives to suicide or substance abuse because of the abuse they have suffered in late childhood and early teens," Broken Rites President Chris MacIsaac said in a telephone interview. Sex Abuse The German-born pope addressed the issue of sex abuse during a visit to the U.S. in April and called on the church to "foster healing and reconciliation." Some American Catholics have criticized what they say is the Vatican's reluctance to confront child abuse. About 26 percent of Australia's 21.3 million people described themselves as Catholic in the most recent census, carried out in 2001, according to the Bureau of Statistics. The panel, which also consists of "prominent lay people from the fields of law, business and psychiatry" and a senior priest, will advise Pell "on the options open to him," according to the statement. It noted the complaint had already been dealt with by the "church, the criminal court and the civil court" and was being reviewed "out of consideration" for the victim. The man has given media interviews this week criticizing how Pell handled the case in 2003. More than 125,000 pilgrims from overseas will attend the five-day World Youth Day celebrations, which culminate in an open-air mass on July 20 to be attended by 500,000 people. Organizers are billing the festival as the biggest event Australia has hosted and say it will draw more people to Sydney than the 2000 Olympic Games. To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net
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