Don't Discriminate against Catholics: Pell

By Genevieve Gannon
Herald Sun
May 29, 2013

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/dont-discriminate-against-catholics-pell/story-fni0xqi4-1226653140575

Cardinal George Pell has cautioned against adopting law reforms wanted by sexual abuse victims.

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AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholic says the Victorian government would be "discriminating against the Catholic community" if it adopts law reforms wanted by sex abuse victims.

Cardinal George Pell said the Ellis defence, a NSW Supreme Court ruling that found the trustees of the Catholic Church were not liable for the actions of pedophile priests, was a "commonsense proposition".

Advocates and legal experts have called for the repeal of laws preventing church trustees from being sued for abuse by clergy.

Monash University academic Judith Corin says doing so would enable victims to pursue greater damages through the courts.

In a written submission to Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into child abuse, Cardinal Pell said the principle of the Ellis decision was that an entity could not be liable for the wrongdoing of others unless it authorised or was responsible for supervising their conduct.

"Unless the parliament intends to discriminate against the Catholic community and single it out for special treatment, proposals for legislative reform would effectively have to make all incorporated and unincorporated entities liable for the criminal conduct of their employees or members," he said.

Cardinal Pell has called for mandatory reporting of child sex abuse in Victoria.

He said NSW laws provided greater protection for children than Victorian laws by imposing greater reporting obligations on non-government agencies.

By doing so, they provided "clear direction as to what the state requires the church ... to do upon becoming aware of allegations of abuse".

The Sydney archdiocese reported allegations of crime to police, including those where an alleged abuser was deceased, Cardinal Pell said.

He also took the opportunity to praise the Melbourne Response, the church's protocols for dealing with child abuse in the Melbourne archdiocese, which he set up while archbishop and which victims' advocates and legal experts want dismantled.

"While improvements are always welcome, the procedures we have in place now are working," he said in hi submission.