AUSTRALIA
ABC News
[with video]
The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, has denied allegations he refused to speak to a child who had been raped by a Catholic school principal in the 1960s.
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child sexual abuse claims has heard Cardinal Pell would not speak to a child who had been raped by paedophile priest Robert Charles Best in 1969.
A submission from lawyer Vivian Waller alleged the child was abused by the principal of St Alipius Parish School in Ballarat.
“In 1969, he went to the local presbytery at Ballarat East attached to a church called St Alipius and he asked to speak to George Pell,” Dr Waller said.
“George Pell was there and refused to see him but was present in the room when he reported to another priest that he had been raped.”
In a statement, Cardinal Pell rejects the contents of Dr Waller’s submission, saying he was never present when any sexual abuse claims were levelled at Best.
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