AUSTRALIA
9 News
A top advisor to the Pope on child protection has slammed Cardinal George Pell, saying Australia’s most senior Catholic should step down from his position at the Vatican.
Peter Saunders, who was hand-picked by Pope Francis six months ago to work as the Catholic Church’s commissioner for the protection of children, said Cardinal Pell’s position was “untenable”.
Speaking to 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown, Mr Saunders said the cardinal’s repeated denials concerning his knowledge over the occurrence of child abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests in Victoria were “cold” and “callous”.
“I personally think that his position is untenable. Because he has now a catalogue of denials – he has a catalogue of denigrating people, of acting with callousness, cold-heartedness.
“[It’s] almost sociopathic, I would go as far to say, this lack of care,” Mr Saunders said.
Cardinal Pell, who is the Head of Finances at the Vatican, has been under fire since fresh allegations emerged last week at the royal commission into child abuse in Ballarat, that he deliberately turned a blind eye to child molestation.
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