Monsignor Brian Rayner reveals ..., by Janet Fife, Daily Telegraph (March 17, 2014)

Monsignor Brian Rayner explains why church fought sex victim
Archdiocese spent $1.5m battling claims over the Ellis decision
Priest Duggan abused Ellis for five years when aged 14
Mons Rayner ‘welled’ up when he took victim to see abuser
Said Archbishop, now Cardinal, Pell didn’t get emotional

CARDINAL George Pell’s former right hand man has disputed evidence given to the royal commission into child sex abuse.

Cardinal Pell has told the commission in a statement that the reason the church fought legal action against a victim of child sex abuse was because he had been told the victim wanted millions - not just $100,000.

However Monsignor Brian Rayner, the former chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, said today that he would have told the Cardinal, then an archbishop, that the victim, John Ellis, had suggested to settle for $100,000 through the church’s controversial Towards Healing protocol.

“I had regular meetings with the archbishop and I would have kept him informed,” Monsignor Rayner said.

The archdiocese ended up spending around $1.5 million in legal costs but it won the case with a ruling that the church was not a legal entity and could not be sued, blocking any other similar claims against it around the country in what has become known as the Ellis decision.

Monsignor Rayner, now at a church in Gymea in Sydney’s south, said he knew that Mr Ellis had come up with the figure of $100,000 from costs accrued for accommodation and counselling.

Counsel assisting the royal commission, Gail Furness SC, has told the commission that: “The Cardinal will give evidence that he was, at this time (of the legal proceedings) unaware that Mr Ellis had in fact sought $100,000, a matter that was known to his chancellor (Monsignor Rayner).”

Monsignor Rayner also told of how tears welled up in his eyes when he took a victim of child sex assault to confront his abuser, who was in a nursing home suffering from dementia.

Monsignor Brian Rayner, former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Sydney, told the royal commission into child sex abuse today about the emotional meeting between John Ellis, who was first abused by Father Aidan Duggan as an altar boy, and Father Duggan.

He said that he was sad to see how a man who entered the priesthood with the noblest of ideals could end up “like this.”

Monsignor Rayner said he always totally believed that Mr Ellis, now 52, had been telling the truth about his years of abuse but admitted he was authorised to offer him just $30,000 in compensation and only if he signed away his right to sue the church.

The commission is looking at how the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing bungled Mr Ellis’ claim, leading to a court case which Mr Ellis lost after the court ruled the church was not a legal entity and could never be sued.

Monsignor Rayner took Mr Ellis to the Little Sisters of the Poor Nursing home at Randwick to meet Father Duggan, who had begun abusing him from the age of 13 at The Christ The King Catholic Church at Bass Hill.

A medical report would later state that Father Duggan could not look after his own affairs or give evidence.

Mr Ellis has told the commission that he saw a “flash of recognition” on Father Duggan’s face when they walked into his room however as soon as Monsignor Rayner spoke to him, he “assumed a blank expression.”

Monsignor Rayner said that both he and Mr Ellis had tears welling up in their eyes.

“The situation was very moving and I became aware and reflected myself not only how the witness (Mr Ellis) had been subjected to the abuse over time but also from my personal side where I had since the earliest years had a great love of the church, of the papacy and of the priesthood, to have seen a priest in this situation where he was now suffering dementia to see how with his noblest ideals at ordination, how he ended up in this situation,” he said.

He said that he had discussed all matters of the case with the then-Archbishop Pell but the archbishop had stayed hands off in negotiations with Mr Ellis and other victims of abuse because he had to represent the church.

“The archbishop does not get too emotional about matters,” Monsignor Rayner said.

Cardinal Pell, who is soon to take up the position in Rome as the third-highest official in the Catholic Church, will not give evidence before next Monday.