AUSTRALIA
Bendigo Advertiser
By ADAM HOLMES Sept. 19, 2014
A GROUP of parishioners from within the Sandhurst Diocese will hold a protest at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Sunday, angry at comments made by Bishop of Sandhurst Leslie Tomlinson.
The group will set up after Mass and look for signatures on a petition calling for the resignation of Cardinal George Pell.
The decision to protest in Bendigo came after Bishop Tomlinson described the Melbourne Response into child sex abuse as “groundbreaking” in a statement to the media earlier this month.
St Mary’s of Mooroopna parishioner Catherine Dooley said it was a “completely inappropriate” comment and the Melbourne Response had not provided adequate comfort to victims.
“We have been very conscious of Cardinal Pell’s lack of compassion and justice in dealing with victims and their families,” she said.
“So please Bishop Tomlinson stop the back slapping and stop the clerical propaganda.”
Mrs Dooley said the response was not “groundbreaking”, as similar support programs had been set up elsewhere in the world. She said the process had proved “intimidating” and “cold” for a number of people who raised concerns over child sex abuse.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.