George Pell Has Supported Offenders, Not Victims and Should Be Compelled to Front Royal Commission: Survivors" Lawyer

By Konrad Marshall
The Age
May 21, 2015

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/george-pell-has-supported-offenders-not-victims-and-should-be-compelled-to-front-royal-commission-survivors-lawyer-20150522-gh6qd3

The chairman of the royal commission into child sexual abuse has fired a warning shot at church authorities to justify their denial of claims that former Bishop George Pell tried to bribe a victim of clerical abuse and ignored the pleas of another.

Commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan is expected to decide on the veracity of the explosive allegations against Cardinal Pell because they deal with the church's response to reports of child sexual abuse.

Justice McClellan stressed on Thursday that he expected Cardinal Pell to fully defend himself against the claims if he was arguing the witnesses had deliberately given false evidence or made a mistake.

"I need to confirm, if it's not already plain, that just because the church parties have chosen to conduct their case ... in a particular way and not ask witnesses questions is not a matter that we will have regard to when making any findings that we believe are appropriate to make when we complete our reports," he said.

Church authorities' own decision not to cross-examine witnesses "does not bind" the commission's own approach to its investigation, he said.

Church lawyers have repeatedly rejected his calls to cross-examine witnesses to test the evidence they have put to the commission, saying in a letter on Thursday they were not required to do this, and chose not to "out of respect for the survivor witnesses".

They said Cardinal Pell has repeatedly denied the accusations, and would only provide a full response to them if the commission requested one of him. The witnesses may be recalled to the commission to give evidence then.

This came with a statement from Cardinal Pell in Rome, denying the allegations from survivors David Ridsdale and Timothy Green.

The lawyers also noted that the commission had not previously called Cardinal Pell to give evidence in the Ballarat hearing.

Justice McClellan fired back that nothing the commission had done diminished their right to seek out evidence or call their own witnesses to help their investigation.

Survivors have told the commission that it was inconceivable, given the widespread nature of child abuse in Ballarat, that former Ballarat Bishops George Pell and Ronald Mulkearns did not know about it at the time.

A survivor of abuse at St Alipius Primary School, known as BAB, said he still does not understand how the abuse was allowed to continue so long, and that many would continue to hurt until a face-to-face apology was offered.

"I would also like Cardinal George Pell to publicly acknowledge that child sexual abuse was committed by clergy and Brothers under his watch as the parish priest in Ballarat East. I would like him to apologise for this."

Another survivor, Stephen Woods, believes that while the stories of abuse must be heard, that a timely and thoughtful response from the church is needed before people can truly move forward.

"The royal commission is helping survivors feel empowered. I hope that finally the Catholic Church, in particular, may be held accountable for its sex crimes," he said. "We have the chance now to change society. We'd better take it."

Calls for Cardinal Pell to appear at the royal commission in person are growing. Nicky Davis, leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, decried his latest response a "defence by media release". She said his past testimony to the commission via video link was inadequate and "insulting".

"If Cardinal Pell is at all genuine in his claims to recognise the seriousness of the crime of sexual violation of defenceless children, he would voluntarily return to Australia to give evidence under oath to the royal commission."

Lawyer and researcher Judy Courtin, who has helped prepare submissions for groups of survivors, said: "I think George Pell – whether he is subpoenaed or not – should be here as Australia's leading Catholic clergy. He has historically supported offenders in court, but he hasn't supported the survivors at all."

"At the very least he should be here providing pastoral care," she said. "As a priest that is his basic function."