George Pell: Survivor questions whether Australia’s most senior Catholic knew of abuse by priests

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Louise Milligan

A victim of a paedophile priest says she believes Cardinal George Pell knew there was abuse going on but will never acknowledge it.

Julie Stewart was sexually abused by Peter Searson when he was a parish priest in Doveton in the mid-1980s.

“I will always believe he knew. Always,” Ms Stewart told 7.30.

“I believe [Pell] did his job well. He did his job by protecting the church’s assets and protecting the church’s name, but I don’t believe he protected the children.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.