Cardinal Pell in court: A ‘momentous’ day for sex abuse survivors

By Liz Burke
news.com.au
July 26, 2017

http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/cardinal-pell-in-court-a-momentous-day-for-sex-abuse-survivors/news-story/64848b34c056ea755b0165b7a42cadbc

Cardinal George Pell arrives, surrounded by Victorian Police officers at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Photo by Tracey Nearmy

Abuse survivor Phil Nagle says he has been waiting for this day ‘for years’. Photo by David Mirzoeff

Cardinal George Pell will become the most senior Catholic to face charges over sexual offences. Photo by Riccardo De Luca

The 53-year-old has made the journey from his hometown to Melbourne and he’ll this morning head to the Melbourne Magistrates Court where Cardinal George Pell is due to answer historic sexual offence charges.

The powerful clergyman and senior Vatican figure is expected to be met by crowds of survivors and advocates, and a throng of local and international media, when he arrives for the filing hearing.

Mr Nagle has no links to the complaints against Cardinal Pell. Still, he says the court appearance is something he and others have been “waiting many years for”.

He says he’ll be in court to support the complainants, and hopes to see them and their claims respected by the court and by Pell’s legal team.

“We are certainly very concerned about the claimants,” he told news.com.au.

“As a former complainant and as a survivor, it takes a lot of courage.

“We’d also like to see the accused, Cardinal Pell, and his team handle the complainants and their claims in a respectful manner.”

The Ballarat man was among Catholic Church sex abuse survivors who travelled to Rome and met with the Cardinal after he fronted the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse via video link.

Cardinal Pell did not return to Australia for the Royal Commission, with his doctors saying he was too sick to travel.

He arrived in Sydney on July 10 ahead of Wednesday’s court appearance, after following his doctors’ advice to avoid taking a long-haul flight from Rome to Australia due to his heart condition.

Mr Nagle said the Cardinal’s Melbourne court appearance would make for a “huge day” for the survivors and advocates he’ll be joined by.