Abuse Royal Commission: Pell’s Team to Cross-examine Victims

By Tessa Akerman
The Australian
November 20, 2015

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A split has emerged at the highest levels of the Catholic Church over how to deal with child sex abuse victims who testify before the royal commission.

The church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council has been represented in the commission by law firm Gilbert and Tobin and has not cross-examined any of the survivor witnesses.

Cardinal George Pell will ­appear before the commission next month and has engaged a separate legal team to represent him and cross-examine witnesses who have given evidence.

TJHC chief executive Francis Sullivan reaffirmed the policy yesterday of not cross-examining abuse survivors. “We don’t cross-examine survivor witnesses,” he said. “It’s always been our policy. We don’t wish to run the risk of retraumatising them.”

A statement from Cardinal Pell’s office said he was not a party to the first part of the Ballarat case study when serious claims were made about him personally. “The TJHC and its lawyers represent church institutions and not individuals and given the claims that have been made, it was agreed that Cardinal Pell should have his own lawyers to assist him in responding to these claims,” it said.