AUSTRALIA
ABC – 7.30
Read Cardinal Pell’s full statement here.
[with video]
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 27/07/2016
Reporter: Louise Milligan
Police are investigating multiple child abuse allegations against Cardinal George Pell. Cardinal Pell has emphatically denied the allegations.
Transcript
SABRA LANE, PRESENTER: Tonight, a special report. Rightly or wrongly, over the course of the child abuse royal commission, one figure has emerged as a lightning rod for the anger of Catholics. Cardinal George Pell has been grilled over what he knew about clergy abuse of children in the Church’s care. Tonight, 7.30 changes the focus of that discussion to reveal a series of allegations levelled against the Cardinal himself. Victoria’s Police Commissioner recently confirmed his Taskforce Sano is investigating George Pell over multiple allegations. We can reveal that investigation has been going for more than a year and involves a number of complainants spanning decades. 7.30 understands that file has been sent to the Office of Public Prosecutions for advice. The Cardinal has issued a statement saying he emphatically and unequivocally rejects any allegations of sexual abuse against him. 7.30 acknowledges the Cardinal is entitled to a presumption of innocence and that the allegations are yet to be tested by any court. In an investigation over several months, reporter Louise Milligan and producer Andy Burns spoke to scores of witnesses and other sources, piecing together the complaints being examined by the police. Many of those they spoke to are concerned that the full picture may never emerge and that’s why they’ve decided to tell their story publicly. Because of the nature of the story, a warning that it contains details that may distress some viewers.
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The town of Ballarat has long been a staunchly Catholic place and Catholic Ballarat’s favourite son was a strapping young priest called George Pell.
LYNDON MONUMENT: George Pell was like a father figure. He was the biggest figure in the Church in Ballarat.
LOUISE MILLIGAN: It was to be a brilliant career. Archbishop of Melbourne, …
GEORGE PELL, CARDINAL: We place ourselves in the presence of God, our loving father.
LOUISE MILLIGAN: … Archbishop of Sydney, …
GEORGE PELL: And suffering and evil will not have the last word.
LOUISE MILLIGAN: Now Cardinal based in the Vatican, he’s one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church.
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