For a second day,Australia’s most senior Catholic faces questioning approximately what he knew of abuse that occurred within the Diocese of Ballarat and the church’s response
• Watch Cardinal Pell give evidence from Rome – live stream
• Cardinal Pell testimony brings sex abuse to Vatican’s doorstep
• Incurious George: Pell heard talk of sex abuse by priests, but rarely indulged’ rumours 3.23am GMTGuardian Australia’s news coverage of the day’s events can be found here.
I’ll close this blog now with some comments from David Ridsdale, or who is a survivor of Father Gerald Ridsdale,his uncle. He has been watching the hearings from Rome. David Ridsdale tells me:When he said he wasn’t that interested in the crimes of my uncle, yeah, and that was a hard one.
And wasn’t it just an astonishing coincidence that almost every single person who was involved with the consultors knew of his abusing,apart from George Pell. Pell keeps pretending he’s a friend of survivors. whether that was valid, he should have ended the evidence by saying; ‘You know what? I should have asked more questions at the time. But I didn’t, or I’m so sorry’. 2.03am GMTI’ve just spoken to abuse survivor Paul Levey,who was sexually abused by Gerald Ridsdale in Melbourne and Mortlake multiple times, and who was forced to live with Ridsdale when he was just 14. His case was highlighted by counsel assisting Gail Furness as she questioned Pell approximately Ridsdale, and was used to highlight the horrendous implications of the church’s failure to act in stopping Ridsdale.
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Source: theguardian.com