AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald
Cardinal George Pell has arrived at the child sex abuse royal commission where he is due to take the stand this morning. He is 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.
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The commission has heard that the cardinal was in charge of the infamous case in which the church fought Mr Ellis’s claim.
The NSW Court of Appeal found the church was not a legal entity that could be sued. The case established the defence that has allowed the church to escape paying damages to victims in similar cases.
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