Cardinal Pell visited St Patrick's weeks before sex abuse hearing

By Rania Spooner
Age
May 25, 2015

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cardinal-pell-visited-st-patricks-weeks-before-sex-abuse-hearing-20150525-gh8v72.html

Cardinal George Pell visited Ballarat and a school at the centre of clergy abuse claims just weeks before the royal commission hearings began in the town.

The Cardinal is pictured walking the halls of St Patrick's College  with the school's headmaster John Crowley in the April edition of the school's magazine The Shamrock. 

The development comes as public pressure builds on Australia's most senior Catholic cleric to front the commission to answer  explosive claims that he bribed a victim to remain silent about a notorious paedophile priest.

The March 28 visit to the school coincided with a "short vacation to Australia" for Cardinal Pell, a former St Patrick's student, and involved talks of "an exciting new initiative" to promote excellence at the school, The Shamrock reported.

"Cardinal Pell has long been a strong and passionate advocate of St Patrick's College and remains close friends with many of his former classmates from his time as a student here," Mr Crowley told The Shamrock. 

"It was a great thrill to be able to escort his Eminence around the College grounds and witness the way he interacted with staff and students alike."

As Cardinal Pell toured new facilities and met students, the Ballarat hearings into sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy members, who were able to continue offending for years allegedly under the protection of senior church figures, was less than two months away.

It had been seven years since the cardinal last visited St Patrick's and although he has not yet been called to appear in the Ballarat hearing, victims of clergy abuse have argued he has an ethical obligation to attend.

Last week, the commission heard that Cardinal Pell ignored a victim's claims about a convicted child sex offender abusing students at St Patrick's in the '70s and '80s, and allegations from the nephew of notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale that the cardinal tried to bribe him in 1993 to keep quiet about being abused.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was among those who called for Cardinal Pell to return to Australia to respond to the bribery allegations in person.

Cardinal Pell has repeatedly denied a church cover-up and although he and Ridsdale both attended St Patrick's and once shared a home together, he claims to have no knowledge of Ridsdale's offending. Ridsdale is expected to give evidence from prison on Wednesday.

Former St Patrick's student Timothy Green, now 53, told the commission that when he was about 12 years old he told Cardinal Pell that Brother Edward Dowlan had been "touching little boys", to which he claimed Cardinal Pell responded: "Don't be ridiculous".

The Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council chief executive, Francis Sullivan, told the ABC on Monday that he was unaware Cardinal Pell had visited St Patrick's.

"It's news to me," he said.

"(Cardinal Pell)'s said in the past and I'm sure he'll say again that he will co-operate fully with the royal commission and provide evidence, provide statements and do what he can, if he needs to bring live evidence in the room."

Mr Sullivan described as "hard to take" hearing details of the level of abuse and the covering up that occurred in the small Ballarat community.