AUSTRALIA
BBC News
Australia’s most senior Catholic official has apologised for decades of child sex abuse by priests.
During questioning at a state parliamentary inquiry, Cardinal George Pell said a culture of silence within the church was partly responsible.
The Catholic church in Victoria state confirmed more than 600 cases of child abuse by its clergy since the 1930s.
The hearings in Victoria are running alongside a national inquiry into abuse in state and religious institutions.
“I am fully apologetic and absolutely sorry,” Cardinal Pell said during the final day of the hearings, which lasted for several hours.
He denied being personally involved in the cover-up of paedophile priests, but acknowledged it happened.
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