Cardinal George Pell set to take stand in child sex abuse royal commission

By Nicole Hasham
Age
March 24, 2014

http://www.theage.com.au/national/cardinal-george-pell-set-to-take-stand-in-child-sex-abuse-royal-commission-20140323-35bqs.html

Cardinal George Pell is due to take the stand at the child sex abuse royal commission on Monday, where he will likely face tough questions over the Catholic Church's handling of abuse claims.

The commission will examine Cardinal Pell's role in the church's treatment of John Ellis, who sought damages for abuse by Father Aidan Duggan at the Sydney Archdiocese's Bass Hill parish.

The abuse, which lasted years, began when Mr Ellis was a 13-year-old altar boy.

The commission has heard the cardinal was in charge of the infamous case in which the church fought Mr Ellis' claim. The NSW Court of Appeal found the church was not a legal entity that could be sued, and that the then-archbishop could not be sued because he was not in charge of the archdiocese at the time of the abuse.