ROME
NT News
AAP
The term “bum buddies” never came to the attention of Cardinal George Pell in reference to a Christian Brother who was later jailed for abusing 31 boys.
The Cardinal was answering questions about his time as a priest in the Ballarat East parish in Victoria from 1973 to 1994 when he was also the episcopal vicar for education in the diocese.
In a video link from Rome the Cardinal has repeatedly told the Royal commission into child sexual abuse that he could not recall detail of exactly who told him what about problems at the local Christian Brothers school, St Patrick’s College.
He said he remembered being told of one brother who was kissing boys but said he never heard the ‘bum buddies’ term, which one witness, a former student at the school, has told the commission was used openly about boys who were abused by Brother Ted Dowlan.
Dr Pell agreed the term would certainly suggest sexual 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.