Our search is for the truth concerning allegations of sexual abuse against Cardinal Pell

Herald Sun
February 22, 2016

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Cardinal George Pell leaves his home near the Vatican this week.

CARDINAL George Pell’s strident supporters are wrong to characterise the Herald Sun revelations of a secret Victoria Police investigation into the Cardinal as a “witch hunt” or a “smear”.

Our exclusive front page report by senior reporter Lucie Morris-Marr that Sano Taskforce has been secretly investigating the Cardinal was investigative journalism at its finest.

It was in the public interest to reveal that the third most powerful Catholic leader in the world was the subject of a secret police investigation. There has been far too much secrecy surrounding the Catholic Church and as much light as is possible needs to be shone in its direction.

This is a search for the truth.

A statement from the Vatican, as well as vehemently denying allegations on the Cardinal’s behalf, also called for a public inquiry into what it claimed was a police “leak.’’

This has been refused by the Victorian Government with Treasurer Tim Pallas declaring an inquiry into the police inquiry would be “a bit like a dog chasing its tail’’.

Mr Pallas said it was more important that the substance of the issues were determined by the royal commission into child sex abuse and Victoria Police investigations.

The extraordinary allegations made against Cardinal Pell may soon lead detectives to question Australia’s most senior cleric at the Vatican, where he is the third in the church’s hierarchy.

The allegations, while unproved, are manifestly serious and involve claims of sexual abuse against between five and 10 boys.

The Herald Sun repeats it is not suggesting the Cardinal is guilty of these latest allegations, only that the claims are being investigated.

They come from a period when the Catholic Church and other churches and institutions were found to harbour clergy who have preyed upon children rather than protect them. Cardinal Pell is alleged to have committed offences against several child victims at a swimming pool in Ballarat in 1978. Other incidents are alleged to have taken place with altar boys at St Patrick’s Cathedral between 1996 and 2001 when Cardinal Pell was Archbishop of Melbourne.

The cardinal has always made himself available to investigations into widespread sexual abuse by Catholic priests and is about to be questioned by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse over video-link to Rome where it is expected these latest claims will be put to him.

Cardinal Pell, who is 74, declared he was unable to come to Australia because of heart complications.

The royal commission into child sex abuse at its Ballarat hearings this week expects to hear evidence from Bishop Ronald Mulkearns, who was in charge of the Ballarat diocese between 1971 and 1997.

Priests, including the convicted paedophile Gerald Ridsdale, were being moved between parishes rather than reported to police. Cardinal Pell served on a committee chaired by Bishop Mulkearns, which was concerned with the movement of priests. The cardinal, who was then a young priest, has denied all knowledge of these incidents.

The royal commission has insisted on questioning Bishop Mulkearns, although sex abuse victims say he has failed to give evidence on previous occasions because of ill health and the commission has been told he has terminal cancer and his answers may be vague at best.

The commission, while accepting that Cardinal Pell is too ill to undertake a long flight to Australia, has agreed that child abuse victims can travel to Rome to be present at his video-link hearing.

This is expected to take four days and lawyers representing victims have also indicated they want to attend the video-link hearings.

The truth will only be realised with utter transparency on the part of all concerned and is the priority of this newspaper in publishing these latest harrowing allegations.

Our interest is the public interest. The truth must out.