AUSTRALIA
3AW
Posted by: 3AW News | 27 May, 2013
Cardinal George Pell has told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse that he is fully apologetic and deeply sorry that child sex abuse occurred in the Catholic Church.
But he has denied there is a culture of abuse within the ranks of the clergy.
Some people in the packed public gallery today wept as Cardinal Pell told the inquiry that he agreed there had been a systemic cover-up that allowed paedophile priests to prey on innocent children.
He also said there was no doubt that crimes by pedophile priests contributed to too many suicides.
Cardinal Pell has admitted that, in hindsight, one of the worst offending priests, Father Kevin O’Donnell, should have been sacked as a priest.
He denied he personally covered up offending and he said he was ”fully apologetic and absolutely sorry” for abuse by clergy.
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