ROME
news.com.au
[with video]
MARCH 1, 2016
CARDINAL George Pell has formally declined an appeal to make available church funds in restitution to victims of Catholic Church abuse, conceding he had no sway in the Vatican.
Despite being the effective treasurer of the Holy See the cardinal said there was nothing available for Melbourne Response — a program he set up himself in 1996 when he was the archbishop of Melbourne.
Anthony Foster, the father of two girls sexual abused by the clergy who had travelled to Rome for answers, said after his impromptu meeting with Cardinal Pell it was clear he had washed his hands of the program.
The father of Emma and Katie, abused by Father Kevin O’Donnell in the 1980s, said the Cardinal had previously told him in a meeting in Sydney he could lift funds available to victims to somewhere near to $100 million.
Mr Foster had just finished a TV interview when he inadvertently bumped into the cardinal sometime after the second day of his testimony to the child abuse royal commission hearing.
“I offered my hand to him which he shook, it was pretty tough,” said an emotional Mr Foster who added he had been in contact with the cardinal over many years and always had a cordial association.
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.