AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Wednesday 5 August 2015
Victims of child sexual abuse are outraged that Cardinal George Pell will appear before the royal commission into institutional response into child sex abuse in Melbourne, rather than in the regional town of Ballarat.
Pell had been due to give evidence to the commission at the second stage of the Ballarat hearings in November. However, last week the commission said the hearings would be held in Melbourne’s county court, citing logistical issues and a high level of public interest.
Stephen Woods – who was abused by the notorious pedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale and the convicted pedophile brother Robert Charles Best while a student at St Alipius primary school – said he and many Ballarat victims were deeply upset by the decision and claimed there was a different interpretation of the reason for the change of venue.
“We feel Pell should apologise to the people of Ballarat and western Victoria for the previous cover-ups and ongoing cover-ups of the church,” Woods told Guardian Australia.
“Clearly he fears coming to Ballarat. But this community needs healing. He should front up to them, in their community where the assaults and the cover-ups happened.”
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