Tony Abbott Defends George Pell after Criticism from Child Abuse Inquiry

By Katharine Murphy
The Guardian
November 14, 2013

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/14/tony-abbott-defends-george-pell-after-criticism-from-child-abuse-inquiry

Cardinal George Pell appears at the Victorian government inquiry into child abuse. Photograph: Joe Castro/AAP

The prime minister has gone in to bat for his friend, the leader of the Catholic church in Australia, George Pell, a man who was “not perfect” but was nonetheless “a fine human being, a great churchman”.

Tony Abbott was asked to comment on a report that followed an inquiry in Victoria, which was highly critical of Pell, his attitudes to the problems evidenced in comments before the inquiry and the institutional failures of the Catholic church in stopping child abuse.

The report, tabled on Wednesday in the Victorian parliament, recommended a broad range of actions to strengthen protections for victims, as well as additional child protection measures.

The prime minister is close to Pell. Abbott said on Thursday his understanding was that Pell was the first “senior cleric who took this issue seriously”.

“Is he perfect? No,” Abbott told 3AW on Thursday morning . “He is in my judgment a fine human being, a great churchman.

“Is he perfect, has he handled every issue perfectly? Of course not. All I know is he has by repute been the first senior clergyman in Australia to take this issue seriously.”

Abbott said he was yet to read the Victorian report, issued on Wednesday, and did not see Cardinal Pell’s evidence to the inquiry.

He described the instances of abuse as “hideous and gruesome”. He said abuse had ruined people’s lives and taken their sanity. Abbott said the church should have handled the problems more effectively.

But he played down the necessity for urgent federal intervention. Abbott said the criminal law was a matter for the states and territories, who he was sure would take the Victorian inquiry on board.

Abbott also, while qualifying his comment with the observation that he was not a lawyer, said his understanding was that the law already required people to report instances of child abuse.

The prime minister also said this issue was bigger than just the Catholic church. He argued that institutions generally, not just church, needed to pick up their game.

The prime minister was asked about his own experiences as a Catholic seminarian – was he aware of the culture exposed by the inquiry?

“I was a seminarian for a couple of years,” Abbott said. “I wasn’t involved in matters of policy or in administrative decisions. I just don’t know for a personal fact what was done.”

“I know it wasn’t handled well. I understand these things probably did happen, but it wasn’t just the church that didn’t handle things well.”