AUSTRALIA
Sky News
[with video]
Cardinal George Pell destroyed the unity of the Catholic church in Australia when he dropped a ‘bombshell’ by launching his own response to abuse victims, a bishop has told the child sex abuse royal commission.
Retired Bishop Geoffrey Robinson said the establishment of the Melbourne Response by then Archbishop Pell in 1996, months before the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference launched the nation-wide Towards Healing, was totally unexpected.
Bishop Robinson was the architect of Towards Healing, which is used by all dioceses except Melbourne. He had steered long negotiations to develop the protocol, which was launched in 1997.
On Monday, he was critical of Dr Pell’s actions, which he said were taken without any reference to the bishops’ conference.
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