AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Australian Associated Press
Saturday 5 March 2016
Child sexual abuse survivors from Ballarat who flew to Rome to watch Cardinal George Pell give evidence say it’s the pope’s loss he didn’t meet with them at the Vatican.
The group of survivors arrived back in Melbourne on Sunday morning after a crowdfunding campaign made it possible for them to fly to Rome to witness Pell give evidence at the royal commission into institutional child sexual abuse.
“It’s been a whirlwind trip, nothing like we expected,” David Ridsdale told reporters at Melbourne airport.
Ridsdale – who was abused by his uncle and Australia’s worst pedophile priest, Gerard Ridsdale – says the group is disappointed it did not get a chance to meet with Pope Francis.
The Vatican said it did not receive a request for a meeting, even though the group followed Vatican protocol and faxed the application.
“The whole nonsense with the pope … the simple fact is it’s the pope’s loss,” Ridsdale said. “He misses out. It’s not our loss.”
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.