AUSTRALIA
The Australian
DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN MARCH 17, 2014
A SENIOR Catholic cleric has given a conflicting account to that of Cardinal George Pell about the church’s handling of a child sexual abuse case.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is currently investigating the case of John Ellis, a former altar boy who unsuccessfully attempted to sue the church after being abused by a Sydney priest.
During a private meeting in 2009, the commission heard, Cardinal Pell said he did not know Mr Ellis had previously offered to settle for a fraction of the roughly $1.5 million the church ultimately spent on the case.
An internal church file note of the meeting, tendered to the commission states: “The cardinal went on to indicate that he had no idea that Mr Ellis had sought an ex gratia payment of $100,000.”
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