AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au
[with video]
Royal commission into child sex abuse told of incredible wealth of Sydney’s Catholic Church, but no cash for alleged victims of sex abuse
THE Catholic Church’s Sydney Archdiocese controls an incredible $1.238 billion in funds — most of it tax free.
It was the first time the wealth of the church has been revealed as the royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse delved into its finances and examined the church’s response to victims.
The archdiocese’s cash reserves are $321 million and the church has been making a profit of up to $43 million a year through investments since 2001.
But the commission has been told that, instead of settling former altar boy John Ellis’s sexual abuse claim for the $100,000 he asked for, it offered him just $30,000 and then spent $1.5 million fighting him in court. Most claims are settled for between $50,000 and $70,000.
The money maze was unveiled as the archdiocese’s business manager, Danny Casey, gave evidence to the commission yesterday.
The funds are ultimately controlled by the archbishop, who since 2001 has been Cardinal George Pell.
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