Cardinal George Pell Testifies to Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission from Rome, Day Two – As It Happened

By Melissa Davey
The Guardian
February 29, 2016

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2016/mar/01/cardinal-george-pell-testifies-to-child-sexual-abuse-royal-commission-from-rome-day-two-live

4m ago Audible shock heard in the room as Pell says rumours of abuse "wasn't of much interest to me"

Another telling exchange

Furness is trying to get Pell to be clear on who was and was not responsible for protecting children in the care of the church at schools and other institutions. Furness says that surely all adults have a responsibility:

“So who isn’t responsible in the Church to ensure the safety of children who are taken in by the Church either as parishioners or as alter boys or in any other way operate within the Church? Who isn’t responsible?”

Pell: “Well it’s very difficult to answer these questions where we swing from one extreme to the other. Everybody has some sort of general responsibility. Individuals and especially office holders have particular responsibility for their areas of concern.

Furness: So if it was the case that a parish priest heard of events dangerous to children happening in a neighbouring parish or a parish distant from them, based on what you’ve said they’ve got no responsibility in relation to the children who are in danger ?Is that right?

Pell: Well very obviously I said nothing of the sort. I said that a person from a neighbouring parish or a distant parish has less responsibility for the care of children in those distant parishes than he does in his own. I’m not suggesting for a minute, especially in a neighbouring parish, that a neighbouring parish priest would have no responsibility at all. I never suggested that.”