Cardinal George Pell ...

Daily Telegraph
February 11, 2015

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/cardinal-george-pell-failed-to-act-like-a-christian-report-into-child-sex-abuse-finds/story-fni0cx12-1227216507959?nk=90d6408127beb2e788fb9817f47040fe

Then senior cleric, Cardinal George Pell, accepted legal advice to vigorously defend the claim so as to deter other victims from suing the church.

Former altar boy John Ellis gives a victim's statement at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney.

Rabbi Yosef Feldman leaves the Melbourne County Court after giving evidence at the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.

CARDINAL George Pell failed to act in a Christian way when he agreed to vigorously deny a man’s claims of sexual abuse as a child in order to discourage other victims from taking legal action, a report has found.

John Ellis was sexually ­abused by Father Aidan ­Duggan in the Sydney parish of Bass Hill in the 1970s.

Mr Ellis failed in his attempt to sue the Archdiocese of Sydney’s trust when a court ruled it could not be held liable.

This ruling cemented the precedent known as the Ellis defence, which has been a roadblock to litigation for other abuse victims.

Mr Ellis’ case was examined at the recent royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, which yesterday released its findings on the way the Catholic Church dealt with a number of victims.

The commission found the Archdiocese of Sydney was wrong in concluding Father Duggan did not abuse Mr Ellis, and then senior cleric, Cardinal George Pell, accepted legal advice to vigorously defend the claim so as to deter other victims from suing the church.

The commission found ­Cardinal Pell was correct when he gave evidence that he and the archdiocese had not acted in a Christian manner during Mr Ellis’ bid for litigation.

Cardinal Pell gave Mr Ellis an apology at the end of his evidence, but would not make eye contact with him as he did so. The commission also found the archdiocese “fundamentally failed Mr Ellis” by not giving him appropriate compassionate support during the compensation process.

The report says Mr Ellis’ case highlights a number of ­issues to be examined as part of the commission’s work on ­redress, including the role an institution should play in assessing complaints of conduct by those associated with the institution, transparency and review processes, reparation and the role of pastoral care.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Yosef Feldman yesterday stood down from the board of the Yeshiva Centre after sparking widespread criticism over his views on child sexual abuse.

Giving evidence to the commission, Rabbi Feldman said he was unfamiliar with child abuse laws and called for leniency for reformed paedophiles.

Yesterday he resigned as a director on the board of management of the ultra-orthodox Yeshiva Centre.

Speaking at the commission this week, Rabbi Feldman had said he did not agree that paedophiles who had repented and not reoffended risked jail time if they were prosecuted.

The Jewish leader said he was committed to undertaking formal training and education on how to identify, handle and report abuse allegations.