Allegation on Cardinal George Pell’s Knowledge of Crime of Paedophile Priest Emerged Earlier

By Padraic Murphy, Lucie Morris-Marr
Herald Sun
May 26, 2015

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/allegation-on-cardinal-george-pells-knowledge-of-crime-of-paedophile-priest-emerged-earlier/story-fni0fee2-1227370514153

Cardinal George Pell has consistently denied having any knowledge of Ridsdale’s abuses.

AN allegation of how much Cardinal ­George Pell knew about a serious crime committed by paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was heard in a court case last year.

The Herald Sun can reveal the significant allegation ­regarding Cardinal Pell’s knowledge of abuse in the early 1970s was raised in a case last year, but the cardinal’s identity was kept confidential.

The cardinal was never questioned or charged over the unconfirmed allegation, made by one person, because the matter in question was not ­officially considered a crime under Victorian legislation.

But with jailed child molester Ridsdale to be quizzed in public for the first time on Wednesday at the royal commission in Ballarat, those close to the case now hope the undisclosed allegation will be made public and “other key witnesses may come forward’’.

It comes as sources close to Victoria Police’s Sano Taskforce, which investigates child sex abuse cases, is considering reviewing material in its files regarding allegations about Cardinal Pell’s knowledge of abuse within the church.

Detectives are expected to personally attend what sources say will be “explosive’’ hearings.

One source close to the taskforce said: “The police are looking very carefully at all the evidence coming out of the Ballarat inquiry.”

Cardinal Pell, last year appointed by Pope Francis as the Vatican’s “Secretariat for the Economy”, has vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Documents also emerged revealing that Cardinal Pell helped move Ridsdale between parishes when Cardinal Pell was on the Diocesan Consulters Committee in 1982.

Sources say that when convicted priest Ridsdale, 80, gives video testimony from his jail cell in Ararat Prison, his evidence could be “potentially ­explosive”.

Cardinal Pell lived with Ridsdale in St ­Alipius Presbytery in Ballarat in 1973, ­although he has consistently denied having any knowledge of the priest’s abuses.

Contact: padraic.murphy@news.com.au