Sex Abuse Victims Call for Pell to Quit

7 News
July 1, 2013

http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/17823690/sex-abuse-victims-call-for-pell-to-quit/


Cardinal George Pell must be asked to stand down following his failure as a moral leader after the Catholic Church's child sex abuse scandal in Australia, a victim's advocacy group says.

Commission of Inquiry Now (COIN) has started a petition to pressure the church to ask its most senior prelate in Australia to stand down.

The petition says Cardinal Pell has failed Australia's five million Catholics and the Australian people in general as a religious and moral leader.

"Practically every day, the Australian people learn about the hideous crimes of child sexual abuse taking place within the Roman Catholic Church," the petition at change.org says.

Katrina Lee, spokeswoman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, said she did not want to comment specifically on the petition, which had about 120 signatures at 4pm (AEST) on Monday.

"The cardinal spoke to the Victorian inquiry for four-and-a-half hours, included in that was a sincere apology to victims," Ms Lee said.

"He made the point of saying processes in place can of course always be improved."

She said the church was hoping to move forward.

COIN's petition predicts the royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse will uncover more scandals.

It calls on the Pope's representative in Australia, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, to ask Cardinal Pell to stand down.

"It is time for the Roman Catholic Church in Australia to change, and the starting point is for Cardinal George Pell to stand down," the petition says.

"He is part of the problem, not the solution. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, please ask Cardinal George Pell to stand down."

COIN represents individuals and organisations seeking justice for victims of Catholic child sex abuse in Australia.

Its members and supporters include victims and their families and former Catholic priests.