AUSTRALIA
Cairns Post
BY MEGAN NEIL AAP DECEMBER 15, 2015
CARDINAL George Pell appeared shocked and crestfallen after speaking to a clergy abuse victim who alleges he asked what it would take to keep him quiet, an inquiry has heard.
MENTONE parish priest Rev John Walshe said Cardinal Pell looked ashen but did not appear angry after a 1993 phone call with David Ridsdale.
Mr Ridsdale, a victim and nephew of pedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale, has accused Cardinal Pell of trying to bribe him by saying: “I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet.”
Fr Walshe, who shared a house with the then-Melbourne bishop, said Cardinal Pell told him after the call: “Ridsdale’s played up, even played up with his nephew.”
Counsel assisting the child abuse royal commission Angus Stewart SC has suggested Fr Walshe’s description of Cardinal Pell still fits with Mr Ridsdale’s allegation.
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.