AUSTRALIA
Affairs Today
His Eminence, Cardinal George Pell, the Australian Catholic leader who holds the third most powerful position in the Catholic Church, was finally interrogated last week by the Australian Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse. One thing is clear from the appalling revelations made over the two year old investigation: the Catholic Church’s tenure as a moral standard bearer in Australia is over. The systematic cover up that is enshrined in their guidelines, practices and culture is best epitomised by Pell’s role in the now infamous ‘Melbourne Response’.
When Frank Little was Archbishop of Melbourne, in the early 1990’s, there was a “growing awareness” of the child sex abuse that was taking place. Testimony from Bishops to the Royal Commission show that Little addressed the scandal by manoeuvring the priests, covering their tracks and remaining “blind” to the issue. In 1996, Little resigned for health reasons and George Pell was promoted from auxiliary Bishop to Archbishop of Melbourne by Pope John Paul. Three months into his tenure he engineered the ‘Melbourne Response’ for child sexual abuse victims. Pell publically called for victims to come forward and have their cases assessed by Independent Commissioners. If the abuse was deemed to have occurred, the Catholic Church would then call for an independent investigation into the allegations and provide the victims with ex gratia payments as compensation along with free counselling. The program was widely lauded as independent, fair and humane. It certainly seems like a win for all, doesn’t it?
The truth, unfortunately, is that the program was entirely self-serving. Firstly, it is estimated that the Melbourne Response saved the Church at least $62 million as the ex gratia payments were capped at $50,000[i] – with an average payment of $46,000[ii]– despite Pell saying payments were made “based on justice”. When comparing these payments to those who reached settlements in court, averaging at $270,000[iii], it is astonishing that only 14 of 335 victims in Melbourne chose the legal route[iv].
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