AUSTRALIA'S leading Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, has decided to throw his weight behind the historic apology to victims of sexual abuse issued at the weekend by Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne. In a statement yesterday Cardinal Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, said he ''wholeheartedly endorsed'' Archbishop Hart's letter of apology which went to 219 parishes in Victoria, saying the letter ''speaks for me, too''.
In the letter Archbishop Hart spoke of a ''crisis of faith'' and acknowledged that victims of clergy abuse had been betrayed, while the church had not always responded properly.
Cardinal Pell said sexual abuse was ''an evil which has no place in the church and those who have committed these crimes deserve the full force of the law''.
''That Catholic priests and members of religious orders are among the worst abusers fills all Catholics, including myself, with horror and disgust.''
Cardinal Pell urged victims who had remained silent to come forward, and pledged to ''rededicate myself to uncovering abuse, to caring for victims and to protecting children and those who are vulnerable''.
The cardinal's statement was cautiously welcomed by Broken Rites, the group set up to represent victims of clergy abuse. But Chris MacIsaac, a spokeswoman for the group, said that despite the ''strong words'', there was ''no mention of the deceit and the minimisation of the issue which occurred in the past''.
She said her group would take up the implicit invitation to pursue further dialogue with the professional standards committee of the church.
In Melbourne, some victims of abuse by the clergy remained bitter despite the apologies coming from the top of the church hierarchy. There were complaints that the church punished those who made difficulties or spoke to the media, and that it was arbitrary in how it helped victims.
Helen Last, an advocate who represents 27 victims of abuse, said her group did not accept the apology and called for the church to open its files to police.
''There's 14 years of files that need to be opened, and see how investigations were carried out and who is named as knowing about it,'' Ms Last said.
Others said they had been told the church in Victoria felt too many people were now receiving aid, and from the new financial year - which began last Thursday - assistance would be cut, including food and pharmaceuticals.
A former nun, Catherine Arthur, received compensation for sexual abuse by a priest while in hospital, but has rejected an offer of $15,000 compensation for repeated abuse by another priest when she was nine.
In what she interprets as an attempt to pressure her, her solicitor got a letter offering her a pastoral visit from Archbishop Hart - but only if she accepted the non-negotiable offer.
Nicky Davis, of Survivors of Clergy Abuse, said the letter was aimed at halting the steady decline in congregations.
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