George Pell: Victim’s dad writes emotional letter to Pope
The father of one of the choirboys abused by convicted paedophile George Pell has written a letter to the Pope containing seven scathing questions.
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EXCLUSIVE
The father of George Pell’s deceased victim has written a letter to the Pope demanding to know why the convicted paedophile has kept his title as Cardinal.
An emotional letter, seen by News Corp Australia, reveals the father’s anguish at the loss of his son and frustration that Pell has not been defrocked and stripped of his status within the church.
The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also questioned what happened to the Vatican’s own investigation into Pell, once the world’s third highest Catholic, and whether the church’s celibacy requirement for priests contributed to offending in the church.
It comes as the High Court will reveal at 9.30am on Wednesday in Canberra whether it will allow Pell to appeal his six-year conviction for child sex abuse of two choirboys.
Victoria’s court of appeal dismissed Pell’s application in August, with judges voting 2-1, but he has gone to Australia’s highest court for his last chance of challenging his conviction.
Lisa Flynn, the lawyer for the father of the deceased victim, contacted the Vatican on November 2 seeking a meeting in Rome, where it was hoped the letter would be hand delivered.
Ms Flynn had not yet received a response to her email, which News Corp Australia has seen.
The letter from the victim’s father said: “To the Pope, I am the father of one of the two Choir boys sexually assaulted by George Pell. My son died of a drug overdose in 2014.”
He wrote that his son had spiralled into the despair of drugs and only found out about his abuse from Sano Task Force police, who were investigating Pell, after his death.
“As a Catholic, I felt betrayed by the Church, but as a parent, I felt like a failure. I felt as if I failed my son and my family and I still feel that way today,” he wrote.
“I will always miss the innocent little choir boy that was my son, such a tragic waste of a beautiful boy whose life became a nightmare.”
The letter included seven questions for the Pope, including why has Pell kept his title as Cardinal, why has the church failed to defrock him (take away his privileges as a priest and his right to say mass), and for the status of the church’s own investigation into Pell.
The father also asks why the Pope did not tell Pell to drop his appeal and accept his sentence.
Ms Flynn, an abuse law expert at Shine Lawyers, said the Vatican needed to do more to support victims and prevent further abuse.
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“Our client remains outraged that the Catholic Church has made no changes since George Pell was found guilty and jailed for sexually abusing his son inside Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral. In his eyes, innocent people are still at risk,” she said.
“I want to meet with someone at the Vatican to deliver our client’s letter on his behalf. He has questions that he deserves answers for to help him heal.”
Pell was found guilty of abusing two choirboys at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne on a Sunday morning after Mass in 1996.
He has denied wrongdoing and his original defence was that the allegations were impossible to have happened.
However, a jury found him guilty in a unanimous verdict in December 2018.
Pell lost his appeal in Victoria’s court of appeal in August this year.
The Vatican said in a statement in August: “While reiterating its respect for the Australian judicial system, as stated on 26 February after the first instance verdict was announced, the Holy See acknowledges the court’s decision to dismiss Cardinal Pell’s appeal.
“As the proceedings continue to develop, the Holy See recalls that the Cardinal has always maintained his innocence throughout the judicial process and that it is his right to appeal to the High Court.
“At this time, together with the Church in Australia, the Holy See confirms its closeness to the victims of sexual abuse and its commitment to pursue, through the competent ecclesiastical authorities, those members of the clergy who commit such abuse.”
News Corp Australia contacted the Vatican for comment on this story.
stephen.drill@news.co.uk
Originally published as George Pell: Victim’s dad writes emotional letter to Pope