Cardinal George Pell Says He Was out of the Country When Boy Told of Rape by Priest
The Australian
AUSTRALIA'S most powerful Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, says a claim that he was present when a boy raped by a Christian Brother in regional Victoria described the incident to another priest is a "false and seriously misleading allegation" and that he was not in Australia at the time. Responding to a submission to the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of alleged criminal abuse of children by religious and other organisations, Cardinal Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, said he was studying at Oxford at the time of the alleged incident. A statement issued by the archdiocese of Sydney said: "The claims made in relation to Cardinal Pell in a submission to the inquiry by Waller Legal are irresponsible, untrue and are absolutely rejected. "These are the facts. The Cardinal was ordained a priest in 1966 in Rome, he continued his studies and then travelled to Oxford to study for his doctorate. Cardinal Pell was studying at Oxford in 1969 and was not a priest appointed in the Diocese of Ballarat at the time alleged in Dr Waller's submission." Digital Pass $1 for first 28 Days It said Cardinal Pell "was never present when any allegations of rape were made by a victim against Brother (Robert) Best". The Victorian government's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations has been told Cardinal Pell was present when a grade three student at a Ballarat school in the 1960s described to another priest what happened to him. The victim, a student at St Alipius school in Ballarat, was raped by principal and teacher Christian Brother Robert Charles Best in 1969. Best was last year convicted of 27 offences against 11 schoolboys including two rapes, and jailed for 14 years and nine months. His victims were from St Alipius, where he was principal, and two schools he later taught at, St Leo's in Box Hill and St Joseph's in Geelong. Two other Christian Brother teachers and the school chaplain from the school were also convicted of child sex offences years later. Police are now investigating 50 suicides by graduates of St Alipius, all thought to be linked to sex offences by Brother Best and Father Gerald Ridsdale who operated the parish. Solicitor Dr Vivian Waller, who has represented hundreds of sexual assault victims alleging abuse by religious clergy, outlined the details involving Cardinal Pell in her submission to the inquiry. Dr Waller says Dr Best's victim returned to class after the rape and told his teacher Christian Brother Fitzgerald, now deceased, who forcibly and repeatedly struck him until he retracted what he said. The victim then went to the St Alipius presbytery and asked to speak to George Pell. "I am instructed that George Pell refused to speak with him, but that George Pell was present when (the victim) described to another priest what had happened to him," Dr Waller wrote in her submission. The Catholic Church on Thursday fended off accusations by Victoria Police that sexual crime victims were too often talked out of reporting it to police, while suspected offenders were sent elsewhere. The Catholic Church of Victoria's Father Shane Mackinlay said if police had any evidence church members were deliberately hindering their investigations, they should take legal action. Father Mackinlay said the church knew ``bad decisions'' were made in the past where accused priests had been given ``treatment'' and a ``fresh start''. But he said the church now knew that advice was misguided, reflecting the broader situation in society at the time, and the process of dealing with allegations of sexual abuse was now very different. Father Mackinlay said abuse victims were vulnerable and while the church actively encouraged them to report incidents to police, they respected their choice not to. Police said the Catholic Church's ``Melbourne Response'' - set up to assist victims - appeared to be a substitute for criminal justice and not a single complaint had been referred to police. The victims are told that to obtain an ex gratia payment they must agree to discharge the church from further liability and not to discuss or disclose the facts and circumstances around their complaints at the risk of being sued by the church, the submission says. The submission says there was an underlying culture within the Catholic Church, and other religions, to hide accusations of abuse. It says such deliberate actions by the church should be criminalised. But Father Mackinlay said the police submission contained many errors and failed to consider the choices of victims. ``Deliberately impeding a police investigation for benefit, and benefit for an institution as much as anything, is already a criminal offence in Victoria and if that has happened we would like to see prosecutions,'' he said. Dr Waller said the victim's case, together with the criminal convictions of Brother Best and teachers at the school Brother Edward Dowlan and Brother Stephen Farrell, should have led to a thorough investigation of a possible pedophile ring operating within the ranks of the Christian Brothers. She said the church should have been proactive in looking into the matters and tracking down other students who may have been victims. "It cannot be said that the Christian Brothers and the church more broadly were not on notice of significant and disturbing allegations," she said. "As far as I can ascertain, the Christian Brothers did not refer matters to the police, nor did they conduct an internal investigation." Dr Waller, who is representing 50 men who allege they were physically or sexually abused by various Christian brothers and a further 25 clients who allege they were abused by other Catholic clergy, wants a royal commission into Catholic clergy abuse. The Catholic Church in Victoria has backed mandatory reporting of child abuse to police for religious ministers and personnel, with an exemption for information received during confession. Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart said a balance needed to be struck between the community's responsibility to prosecute criminal conduct and the victim's rights to privacy.
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