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George Pell cleared to give sex abuse royal commission evidence by video link

By Melissa Davey
Guardian
February 08, 2016

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/feb/08/george-pell-cleared-to-give-sex-abuse-royal-commission-evidence-by-video-link

Cardinal George Pell has been cleared to give evidence to the royal commission by video link.
Photo by Andreas Solaro

Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, will give evidence about child sex abuse that occurred within his parishes via videolink following a ruling by the chair of the royal commission into institutional responses into child sexual abuse, Justice Peter McClellan.

Child sexual abuse victims have been waiting to hear whether Pell would appear in person since December, when his lawyers told the commission days before he was due to give evidence that he was too unwell to make the flight from Rome to Melbourne.

At the time, McClellan refused Pell’s request to instead appear via video link, saying the issues that Pell was due to give evidence on were complex and his answers would be better delivered in person. He said the commission would wait until February to see if Pell’s health had recovered enough to allow the flight.

On Friday, Pell’s lawyer, Allan Myers QC, tendered medical documents to the commission that indicated Pell was still too unwell to fly. After hearing from lawyers for the victims, who largely argued that Pell’s medical condition was “very common” to anyone of the cardinal’s age, 74, McClellan adjourned to consider his position.

On Monday McClellan revealed that the conditions were hypertension and ischaemic heart disease. While it would be preferable that Pell fly to Australia to give evidence, McClellan said the commissioners were satisfied doing so would pose a risk to Pell’s health and that his condition was unlikely to improve.

“Although people with the conditions that Cardinal Pell has may fly long distances, it is apparent from the medical report that in the case of Cardinal Pell there is a risk to his health if he undertook such travel at the present time,” McClellan told the commission.
“Although it remains preferable that he gives evidence in Australia, when the alternative that he give evidence by video link is available the Commissioners are satisfied that course should be adopted.”

Paul O’Dwyer SC, appearing for some of the abuse victims, asked McClellan: “What if that view that those conditions preclude the Cardinal from safely flying to Australia are wrong?”

McClellan replied: “I’ve made the decision, Mr O’Dwyer.”

The commission does not have the authority to summons people from overseas to appear before it, but Pell wrote to the commission in May saying he would be prepared to fly to Australia to give evidence. The commission took him up on the offer, and asked him to appear before the second round of Ballarat hearings in December.

In the first round of hearings, the commission heard that Pell was involved in the decision to move a priest, Gerald Ridsdale, who was later found to be a prolific child sex offender from the Victorian parish of Mortlake. David Ridsdale, a victim and nephew of Gerald Ridsdale, also told the commission Pell discouraged him from speaking out about the molestation he suffered. Pell has denied the allegations.

When he appears before the commission, Pell will be pressed on the abuse that occurred within Ballarat institutions while he was an assistant priest at Ballarat East from 1973 to 1983, a period when several Catholic priests sexually assaulted young boys.

He will also be asked about how the archdiocese of Melbourne responded to allegations of child sexual abuse within its institutions. Pell was appointed auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese in 1987 and 1996, when he was appointed the archbishop of Melbourne.

Pell will give evidence via video link from Monday 29 February.

McClellan also ruled on Monday that a former bishop at Ballarat between 1971 and 1997, Ronald Mulkearns, would be required to give evidence, though provisions could be made to allow him to do so from his nursing home. The commission had previously summoned Mulkearns to give evidence, but he had so far been unable to do so due to bowel cancer and cognitive health problems.

The commission has previously heard that Mulkearns was involved in decisions to move suspected pedophiles between parishes despite the abuse allegations against them.

 




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