AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
Catherine Armitage
Senior Writer
The Catholic Church’s insurer insisted on being “kept in the loop” in the John Ellis case after lawyers expressed concern at Cardinal George Pell’s “tooth and nail” approach, according to evidence at the child sex abuse royal commission.
Peter Rush, then general manager of Catholic Church Insurance Ltd, complained to the business manager of the Sydney Archdiocese about being “kept out of the loop” in the case and warned this could jeopardise the church’s insurance, the commission heard.
Cardinal Pell will give evidence on Monday. His testimony is eagerly anticipated after two weeks of hearings in which commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan has sought to establish Cardinal Pell’s role in the church’s treatment of Mr Ellis, which the commission has been told caused him harm and suffering.
The questions put to Cardinal Pell’s private secretary of more than 10 years, Dr Michael Casey, may be a guide to what the Cardinal can expect on Monday. The “conduit to the Cardinal”, who handles all his correspondence, admitted the church failed in its moral responsibility to Mr Ellis and his own handling of Mr Ellis’s case lacked compassion.
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