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Inquiry told Pell backs right to sue
By Annette Blackwell
AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholic Cardinal George Pell believes victims of child sex abuse should be able to sue the church. Revealed at a hearing of the federal Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney on Monday, Cardinal Pell's position represents a major policy change from the church. The commission is examining the experiences of victim John Ellis who unsuccessfully pursued civil litigation against the church and Cardinal Pell for the abuse he suffered while an altar boy. It's been told the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney spent $1.5 million to defeat Mr Ellis' $100,000 claim stemming from the hurt and distress he suffered at the hands of Father Aidan Duggan at Christ the King's Church in Bass Hill, Sydney from 1974 to 1979. He lost his case when the court ruled the church was not a legal entity which could be sued and Cardinal Pell could not be held responsible. The case has been viewed as a barrier to future compensation attempts. In her opening remarks to the commission on Monday, Gail Furness SC, counsel advising the commission, outlined Mr Ellis' costly fight. She said when Cardinal Pell gives evidence later in the hearings he will say that, on reflection, some of the steps in Mr Ellis' case caused him concern. In his submission to the royal commission, she went on, Cardinal Pell will say: "Whatever position was taken by the lawyers during the litigation, or by lawyers of individuals within the Archdiocese following the litigation, my own view is that the church in Australia should be able to be sued in cases of this kind." Mr Ellis lost his action in 2005 and the church and its solicitors pursued him for more than $550,000 costs for three years, before they were finally waived. Ms Furness said Mr Ellis, a lawyer, was first told his claim could not be resolved because the alleged abuser, Fr Duggan, had dementia. Before any mediation began he was informed by Raymond Brazil, a facilitator for the church's Professional Standards Office (NSW/ACT) that any "financial gesture would be in the form of a gratuity and not compensation in the legal sense". There was a cap of $50,000 and only the most serious cases receive the maximum amount. The commission has heard the church's Towards Healing program which is meant to be compassionate and pastoral in its approach does not have a financial cap on redress. Mr Ellis told the inquiry the impacts of the abuse were still unfolding for him and his wife Nicola at the time. He had been asked to resign from his position as partner in the law firm Baker and McKenzie and in the initial stages of therapy, was living away from home. He requested $100,000 but was offered $25,000. The offer was upped to $30,000 and he considered accepting this because he was financially strapped. Mr Ellis said he was told the offer was less than he wanted because: "The impact on you is considered to be less because the abuse continued after you were 18." He was also told the church authority questioned the casual links between his present issues and the abuse. "I felt the impacts on me were being minimised in that response", Mr Ellis said. He told the commission: "I had no desire to engage in legal proceedings against the church. What he wanted was a payment of something like the suggested $100,000, an apology from the Cardinal, acknowledgment of the church's failure to protect him and counselling. He also wanted honest information about how Father Duggan had come to be placed at Bass Hill.
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