Cardinal George Pell involved in shuffling paedophile priests, counsel submits

UPDATE: CARDINAL George Pell was involved in knowingly shuffling a paedophile priest between parishes, counsel assisting the child abuse royal commission has submitted.

Pell was involved in moving paedophile priests as a consultor to Ronald Mulkearns, counsel assisting the child abuse royal commission has submitted. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

CARDINAL George Pell was involved in knowingly shuffling a paedophile priest between parishes, counsel assisting the child abuse royal commission has submitted.

And there was strong evidence implicating him in a Catholic Church cover-up, counsel submitted to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Cardinal Pell strongly denied the claims in his own 71-page submission.

Both submissions were published today.

Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale appears before the commission via video link.

Counsel assisting Gail Furness, SC, Angus Steward, SC, and Stephen Free said Cardinal Pell had known that paedophile Gerald Ridsdale was being moved between parishes because of his crimes against children.

Cardinal Pell served as a consultor to former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns, who oversaw the movement of several paedophile priests.

At a consultors’ meeting which then-Father Pell attended in 1982, it was decided to move Ridsdale from Mortlake, where he committed some of his worst crimes.

“It is submitted it was the common understanding of the meeting that complaints that Ridsdale had sexually abused children was the reason it had become necessary to move him,” counsel said.

“It follows that the conduct of any consultor who agreed to move Ridsdale, or indeed any priest, with knowledge of allegations of child sexual abuse made against them, is unacceptable.”

The commission has heard that when an auxiliary bishop in Melbourne, Cardinal Pell failed to act on allegations of violent and sexual misconduct by gun-carrying child abuser Peter Searson.

Peter Searson

Christian Brother Edward “Ted” Dowlan

Late Bishop Ronald Mulkearns. Picture: Mike Dugdale

In March, Cardinal Pell said he was the victim of a widespread deception, lasting decades, that kept him in the dark about child abuse. He said depraved acts by Searson were hidden from him.

But counsel assisting submitted there was no evidence that anyone had intentionally concealed anything from the Archdiocese.

“Nor is there any evidence, or logical reason, despite the theory advanced by Cardinal Pell, that the CEO (Catholic Education Office) or any of its officers wished to keep Searson in Doveton and were resistant to any moves to the contrary,” they said.

“The matters known to Cardinal Pell on his own evidence ... were sufficient that he ought reasonably to have concluded that more serious action needed to be taken in relation to Searson.”

However, counsel assisting submitted that Cardinal Pell’s denials that he had tried to bribe David Ridsdale, a victim of his uncle Gerald, should be believed.

The submission argued that Cardinal Pell should be believed over his denial of bribe claims. Picture: AP

Lawyers for Cardinal Pell submitted that there wasn’t “a single witness, nor a single document, which evidences that any person, lay or religious, provided information to Father Pell which would have indicated that Ridsdale was abusing children”.

“Ultimately, when one assesses all of the evidence … including that of Cardinal Pell, the commission could not be ‘comfortably satisfied’ that any one of the allegations made against Cardinal Pell has been made out,” they submitted.

KEY SUBMISSIONS

Counsel assisting the royal commission said:

■ CARDINAL Pell was involved in moving paedophile Gerald Ridsdale between parishes while knowing of his crimes against children as early as 1982.

■ HE was involved in appointing paedophile Paul David Ryan to a parish in 1980 despite knowing he had been sent overseas for treatment for “homosexuality”.

■ HE dismissed as “ridiculous” a 1974 complaint about Christian Brother paedophile Ted Dowlan.

■ HE failed to act on complaints of violent and sexual offending by Doveton priest Peter Searson while an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne.

■ HE did not attempt to bribe sex abuse victim David Ridsdale, nephew of Gerald, to keep quiet about his abuse.

■ HE was not overheard telling another priest “Haha I think Gerry’s been rooting boys again”, in relation to Gerald Ridsdale.

■ HE did not close the door in the face of a Ballarat schoolboy who reported abuse to him.

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