AUSTRALIA
BDlive
BY JAMES GRUBEL, MAY 28 2013
CANBERRA — The head of the Catholic Church in Australia on Monday came under scathing attack at a Victorian state inquiry into child abuse cover-ups, as he blamed a culture of silence for what one panelist described as a “psychopathic disregard” for the welfare of children.
Cardinal George Pell, an adviser to Pope Francis on Vatican reforms, told a parliamentary hearing the church had been slow to address the suffering of victims and again issued an apology.
“I am fully apologetic, and absolutely sorry,” said Cardinal Pell at an often hostile hearing marked by at times angry questioning over the church’s compensation and investigations. Cardinal Pell was questioned for more than four hours. He said the number of reports of abuse by clergy members peaked in the 1970s and 1980s — at 620 cases — but had fallen as the church changed its approach.
“The evidence of misbehaving, crimes, has been significantly reduced. I hope the worst is behind us,” Cardinal Pell said, adding 300 people in Victoria state had received compensation for abuse.
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