AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Australian Associated Press
Sunday 13 December 2015
Cardinal George Pell says he is not avoiding facing child sex abuse victims after putting off flying to Australia.
Pell’s appearance before the child abuse royal commission was postponed after his doctors deemed it was unsafe for him to make the flight from Rome to Melbourne.
Claims that Cardinal Pell is refusing to attend or face victims of sexual abuse are false and ridiculous, a statement from Rome said on Sunday.
“Cardinal Pell’s whole career is a story of stepping up to meet challenges, not avoiding them,” the statement said.
The statement said Pell, who has previously appeared before the commission twice, was determined to give evidence to the commission’s inquiries into child sex abuse by clergy in the Melbourne archdiocese and Ballarat diocese.
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