AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald
CARDINAL George Pell has ended his time before the royal commission into child sexual abuse with a public acknowledgement of the wrongs done to John Ellis, a former altar boy preyed upon by a paedophile priest.
But acknowledging Mr Ellis himself, when he was sitting just metres away, seemed to prove too hard for the cardinal.
Dr Pell concluded two-and-a-half days of evidence to the commission by apologising for what he had described as regrettable mistakes and misunderstandings over years of dealing with Mr Ellis.
Reading from a statement, Dr Pell said that as the former archbishop of Sydney and speaking personally, the Church had failed Mr Ellis in many ways.
“I want to acknowledge his suffering and the impact of this terrible affair on his life,” Dr Pell told the commission.
“As the then archbishop, I have to take ultimate responsibility, and this I do.
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