George Pell declines to speak about police investigation into sexual abuse allegations

By Ellen Whinnett
Herald Sun
February 12, 2017

https://goo.gl/2vIFie

Cardinal George Pell has previously repeatedly denied the allegations of sexual abuse against him in the strongest terms. Photo by David Dyson

News Corp Australia spoke to Cardinal Pell outside his home on the edge of St Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome.

He declined to comment, and another priest who spoke on his behalf said the Cardinal had considered his position and decided it was inappropriate to make public comments from Rome while the royal commission into the Catholic Church’s response to clergy abuse was continuing in Australia.

RELATED: ‘I’m ashamed’: Archbishop on church sex abuse

RELATED: Senate calls for Pell to return to Australia

Cardinal Pell has repeatedly denied the allegations in the strongest terms.

The priest, from Ireland, also gave News Corp Australia a copy of a statement issued by the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, which had condemned a Greens motion passed through the Senate last week calling for Cardinal Pell to return to Australia to face the royal commission.

Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Pell was appointed by Pope Francis in 2014 to the role of Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, where he oversees the Vatican’s vast finances.

Part of his role heading up the new economic portfolio is to tackle irregularities within the Vatican’s finances, particularly within its bank, and improve transparency.

Victoria Police are investigating allegations from a number of complainants that Cardinal Pell sexually abused them decades ago, and two men have alleged publicly he touched them inappropriately at a Ballarat swimming pool in the late 1970s.

He has vehemently denied the allegations.

He also strongly denies claims that he covered-up or turned a blind eye to complaints that other Catholic priests were sexually abusing young boys.

Three detectives flew to Rome to interview him in October, and the file has been returned to the Office of Public Prosecutions for a second time by police investigators.

The Cardinal, who is now aged 75 years, has twice testified at the royal commission and in 2015 appeared a third time, this time via video-link from Rome after medical advice that he should not make the long flight to Australia.

The decision outraged his critics and led to the motion in the Senate calling for him to return.

Figures given to the royal commission last week revealed that seven per cent of Catholic Church priests in Australia were accused of sexual abuse, and 4444 people had complained of abuse between 1980 and 2015, and identified 1880 alleged perpetrators.

Pope Francis has directly addressed the issue of child sexual abuse by clergy members across the globe.

The comments were made privately to leaders of a religious order in November but the transcript of his remarks was only released last week.

The Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica wrote that he told the leaders he was at peace and not taking “tranquillising pills’’ as he dealt with the twin scandals of clergy abuse and corruption at the Vatican.

“Never wash your hands of problems,” he reportedly said, describing sexual abuse of children as “a clear sign the devil is at work destroying the work of Jesus through those who should be proclaiming Jesus”.

Pope Francis also said seminaries should not accept student priests who had been rejected or thrown out of other institutions, and there should be better evaluation to identify and throw out those who may be potential abusers.