Australian Catholic University staff want Vice-Chancellor sanctioned for his defence of George Pell

Australian Catholic University staff call for Greg Craven to be sanctioned over Pell support, and for Pell Centre to be renamed.

Professor Greg Craven, vice-chancellor of Australian Catholic University. Picture: supplied

Union members at the Australian Catholic University have called on chancellor John Fahey to sanction vice-chancellor Greg Craven for defending George Pell after his conviction for child sex abuse.

In a public letter to the chancellor, members of the National Tertiary Education Union asked the chancellor to change the name of the Pell Centre on their Ballarat campus and requested the removal of Cardinal Pell’s portrait from their North Sydney Campus.

The letter also fired back at Professor Craven for his “hypocrisy” after he sent an email to ACU staff that said the university would not comment on Pell’s conviction yet published an opinion piece in The Australian the same day.

Australian Catholic University, Aquinas Campus, Ballarat.

In the article published last week, Professor Craven questioned the justice system and said it could be “systematically assaulted” from the outside in a conscious attempt to make a fair trial impossible.

“All my life, I have joined in the chorus that our justice system is the best in the world. With the case of Cardinal George Pell, I am not singing quite so loud,” Professor Craven wrote in The Australian.

The letter released yesterday stated that staff had “grave concerns” the opinion piece titled “George Pell: a case in which justice never had a fair chance”, linked Professor Craven’s personal beliefs with the university.

“Professor Craven’s personal beliefs are not representative of staff who are concerned with safeguarding children, supporting survivors of sexual abuse and who respect the judicial system of our country and it’s outcomes,” the letter said.

“Questioning the jury’s verdict in Cardinal Pell’s case, as Professor Craven does in his article, shows a disregard for those concerns.”

The letter addressed the university’s role in “rebuilding trust in the Church” and accused Professor Craven of “undermining” Pell’s conviction.

At the same time, advocates from the National Union of Students and End Rape on Campus group sent a letter to Universities Australia concerning Professor Craven’s attitude.

“We respectfully request that Universities Australia stands with student survivors, and survivors of sexual abuse everywhere, and condemns the public support of a convicted sex offender by the Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor,” the letter said.

However an Australian Catholic University spokeswoman said the university respected the right of staff to comment in accordance with established principles of intellectual freedom.

“The vice-chancellor made comment on the trial as a constitutional lawyer and former Victorian Crown Counsel“, she said.