Cardinal George Pell admits mistakes made, but denies culture of abuse in church

AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

Genevieve Gannon
From: The Daily Telegraph
May 28, 2013

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic has apologised for sex crimes committed by clergy but said he did not believe there had been a culture of abuse.

“I’m fully apologetic and absolutely sorry,” Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse yesterday.

“I think the bigger fault was that nobody would talk about it, nobody would mention it.

“I was certainly unaware of it.

“I don’t think many, if any, persons in the leadership of the Catholic church knew what a horrendous widespread mess we were sitting on.”

He agreed placing paedophiles above the law and moving them to other parishes resulted in more heinous crimes being committed.

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