Cardinal George Pell accused of knowing about sadistic paedophile priest notorious for his yellowing long fingernails - but did nothing to stop his vile sexual abuse

By John Carney
Daily Mail
October 31, 2016

https://goo.gl/KSTGlZ

Doveton parish priest Peter Searson (pictured) had sexual contact with children and was involved in animal cruelty

The child sex abuse royal commission has been told to reject evidence given by Cardinal George Pell

Counsel assisting the inquiry said in a submission Cardinal Pell had to know of accusations

Counsel also submitted that Pell also failed to exercise proper care for children when dealing with Doveton parish priest Peter Searson

Searson was a parish priest under the effective control of the now Cardinal Pell in Melbourne's Doveton parish in the 1980s when accused of sexual misconduct

Cardinal George Pell failed to take direct action against a Melbourne pedophile priest and evidence given by him should be rejected, the royal commission into child sex abuse has been told.

Cardinal Pell - the world's third most senior Catholic - and other senior Melbourne archdiocesan clergy also failed to exercise proper care for children when dealing with Doveton parish priest Peter Searson, counsel assisting the inquiry said in a submission.

Known for his yellowing long fingernails and icy stare, complaints against Father Searson included keeping a gun at school, showing a body in a coffin to children, sexual contact with children, animal cruelty and holding a knife to a girl's chest.

Searson was accused of sexual misconduct among a number of accusations while a parish priest under effective control of the now Cardinal Pell in Melbourne's Doveton parish in the 1980s.

He also stabbed a bird with a screwdriver in front of students, and was accused of making children kneel between knees and sit on lap during confession, during which he had a tape recorder.

Cardinal Pell called Searson's behaviour 'abhorrent' but denied knowing about it at the time.

However assisting counsels Gail Furness SC and Stephen Free submitted that the commission reject Cardinal Pell's evidence that he was intentionally deceived by the Catholic Education Office (CEO) in regards to Searson.

They said the CEO should have done much more to respond to the obvious threat posed by Searson, however there was no evidence that anything was concealed from the Archdiocese or from Cardinal Pell in the years before he became Archbishop of Melbourne.

'Nor is there any evidence, or logical reason, despite the theory advanced by Cardinal Pell, that the CEO or any of its officers wished to keep Searson in Doveton and were resistant to any moves to the contrary,' they said.

'The matters known to Cardinal Pell on his own evidence ... were sufficient that he ought reasonably to have concluded that more serious action needed to be taken in relation to Searson.'

Commission chair Justice Peter McClellan said by 1993 it was notorious among all priests near Searson's parish that he was a serious problem and should not be a priest.

Cardinal Pell said he knew Searson was a serious problem but he did not come to the conclusion that Searson should not be a priest.

'The position I accepted was the official position given to me that we did not have sufficient evidence to remove him,' Pell told the royal commission.

Cardinal Pell said he had sought a briefing from the education office after a delegation came to him in 1989, when he was an auxiliary bishop in the Melbourne archdiocese, to complain about Father Searson.

By despite calling Searson's behaviour 'abhorrent' Cardinal Pell denied knowing about it at the time.