Giving evidence to royal commission via videolink,cardinal admits he had been ‘strongly inclined’ to accept priests denials’ of sex abuse allegations and church had a ‘predisposition not to believe’ children who made complaints Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, and has maintained he knew nothing of the paedophile priests operating within the diocese of Ballarat while he was a junior priest there but has conceded the church’s handling of child sexual abuse was “catastrophic” for its victims.
On the first day of four days of evidence before Australia’s royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse,Pell said the Catholic church had made “huge mistakes” in dealing with allegations of abuse. Related: Cardinal George Pell testifies to child sex abuse royal commission from Rome – live Related: 'We spoke in front of the world' – abuse victims in Rome to see George Pell testify Related: George Pell and the royal commission: the questions George Pell must answer | David Marr Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com