Cardinal George Pell aware of clergy sexual abuse for decades: child sex abuse royal commission
Cardinal George Pell has rejected findings that he was aware of Catholic priests’ sexual abuse of children as early as the 1970s, saying the Royal Commission’s findings were not supported by evidence.
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Cardinal George Pell turned a blind eye to child sexual abuse by colleagues as he scaled the heights of the Catholic Church, according to royal commission findings made public on Thursday.
But Cardinal Pell rejected the findings, continuing to maintain his innocence of any wrongdoing.
In a scathing report, made public after years of secrecy, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found Cardinal Pell failed to act to protect children.
Among the most damning of its findings, the commission concluded Cardinal Pell knew about child abuse by colleagues Gerald Ridsdale, John Day and Ted Dowlan as early as the 1970s.
“We are satisfied that in 1973 Father Pell turned his mind to the prudence of Ridsdale taking boys on overnight camps,” the royal commission said.
“The most likely reason for this, as Cardinal Pell acknowledged, was the possibility that if priests were one-on-one with a child then they could sexually abuse a child or at least provoke gossip about such a prospect.
“By this time, child sexual abuse was on his radar, in relation to not only Monsignor Day but also Ridsdale.
“We are also satisfied that by 1973 Cardinal Pell was not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy but that he also had considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it.”
The commission found that in late 1974, in the Eureka Swimming Pool changing room at Ballarat, a boy complained to Pell about abuse by Br Dowlan.
The boy said to Father Pell, ‘We’ve got to do something about what’s going on at St Pat’s’.
“When Father Pell asked what he meant, Mr Green(??) responded, ‘Brother Dowlan is touching little boys’. Father Pell said words to the effect of ‘Don’t be ridiculous’ and walked away,” the commission said.
Cardinal Pell was also involved in the shuffling of evil paedophile Gerald Ridsdale while working as a consultor to Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns in 1982.
Cardinal Pell told the commission he had been deceived about Ridsdale’s offending, with Mulkearns keeping it a secret and the matter never being explicitly raised among consultors.
But the commission said: “Cardinal Pell’s evidence that ‘paedophilia was not mentioned’ and that the ‘true’ reason was not given is not accepted.
“It is implausible given the matters set out above that Bishop (Ronald) Mulkearns did not inform those at the meeting of at least complaints of sexual abuse of children having been made.
“We are satisfied that Bishop Mulkearns told the consultors that it was necessary to move Ridsdale from the diocese and from parish work because of complaints that he had sexually abused children. A contrary position is not tenable.”
Cardinal Pell, who shared a home with Ridsdale for a short period in the 1970s, has said he was never aware of Ridsdale’s offending until the early 1990s when his crimes were made public. He infamously accompanied Ridsdale to court.
“This was an extraordinary world, a world of crimes and cover-ups and people did not want the status quo to be disturbed,” he told the commission.
“I knew nothing about (Ridsdale’s) paedophilia. I knew that he was a somewhat difficult person and obviously that he had been shifted around quite a bit ... It’s a sad story and it wasn’t of much interest to me. The suffering, of course, was real and I very much regret that, but I had no reason to turn my mind to the extent of the evils that Ridsdale had perpetrated.”
Ridsdale has admitted abusing hundreds of children, saying he lost count of his victims.
Cardinal Pell was a key witness in the commission’s probe into the Ballarat and Melbourne dioceses where he worked alongside notorious paedophiles and at times held senior positions.
Its 2017 findings, released just months after the Cardinal was charged with child sex offences, remained redacted until Thursday so as not to prejudice his criminal matters.
His recent High Court acquittal cleared the way for the findings to be published in full.
While the commission was scathing of parts of Cardinal Pell’s evidence, in other areas it found in his favour.
In particular it rejected claims he had tried to bribe the nephew of Ridsdale, David, to keep silent about his own abuse.
It also rejected claims by one witness he’d overheard Pell joke about Ridsdale with a fellow priest at a funeral mass in Ballarat, saying “Ha ha I think Gerry’s been rooting boys again”.
In a statement Cardinal Pell said the major findings of the commission were not supported by evidence.
WHAT THE COMMISSION FOUND
PELL KNEW OF GERALD RIDSDALE’S ABUSE
The Commission found Pell knew about crimes being committed by notorious paedophile Gerald Ridsdale as early as the 1970s.
It rejected claims Ridsdale’s offending was not discussed at high-level meetings Pell was involved in.
“We are satisfied that Bishop Mulkearns told the consultors that it was necessary to move Ridsdale from the diocese and from parish work because of complaints that he had sexually abused children. A contrary position is not tenable.”
WHAT PELL SAID:
Pell claimed he was the victim of a widespread deception, lasting decades, that kept him in the dark on child abuse.
“This was an extraordinary world, a world of crimes and cover-ups and people did not want the status quo to be disturbed,” he said.
PELL SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE
The Commission found Pell should have done more while working in Ballarat.
“It follows that the conduct of any consultor who did not advise against the appointment and who knew the reason Ridsdale — or, indeed, any priest with knowledge of allegations of child sexual abuse made against them — was being moved is unacceptable.”
WHAT PELL SAID:
Pell maintained details of child sex abuse were never raised at consultor meetings.
“He (Mulkearns) would realise that I didn’t know and he did not want me to share in his culpability. I think he would not have wanted to mention it to me and some, at least some other members of the consultors because at the very minimum, we would have asked questions.”
PELL FAILED TO ACT
The Commission found Pell failed to act to stop violent and sexual offending by Doveton priest Peter Searson while serving as an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne.
“It was incumbent on Bishop Pell, as an Auxiliary Bishop with responsibilities for the welfare of the children in the Catholic community of his region, to take such action as he could to advocate that Father Searson be removed or suspended or, at least, that a thorough investigation be undertaken of the allegations.”
WHAT PELL SAID:
“I wasn’t adequately briefed at all. I wasn’t told explicitly what they did, but I was told that the education office, the officials had spoken with the parties involved and the matter had been satisfactorily investigated.”
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Originally published as Cardinal George Pell aware of clergy sexual abuse for decades: child sex abuse royal commission