Jeff Kennett warned Pell to deal with abuse

AUSTRALIA
WA Today

March 28, 2014

Josh Gordon, Catherine Armitage

Jeff Kennett has confirmed he bluntly warned Cardinal George Pell in the 1990s to resolve allegations of child sexual abuse or possibly face a royal commission.

The former premier said he recalled telling the cardinal to deal with abuse complaints or face significant consequences for the church. But Mr Kennett said he had made no judgment on the adequacy of the response at the time.

”I was reassured that George said ‘yes’, he’d get stuck into it,” Mr Kennett said. ”A couple of months later I was told that he had put together a response … and I just assumed that, right, he is on top of it and it’s not for me to sit in judgment … of whether the response was adequate or not.”

Cardinal Pell this week admitted he wanted to avoid big damages claims. As a result, he set up the ”Melbourne Response” to deal with complaints, which included a $50,000 cap on payouts.

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