GEORGE Pell has admitted that senior
figures in the Catholic Church in Australia had covered up child sex
abuse, with devastating consequences for the victims, but he denied a
"culture of abuse" existed. Yesterday a defiant Cardinal Pell disappointed victims' groups by rejecting calls for the church to increase compensation payments, saying its Australian arm would do only what was required to meet "the law of the land".
In landmark testimony to a Victorian government inquiry examining how abuse claims have been handled, Cardinal Pell acknowledged there had been cover-ups within the church, that abusers had been moved from parish to parish, and that this had led to more crimes being committed.
"There's no doubt about it, that lives have been blighted," he said. "There's no doubt about it that these crimes have contributed to too many suicides."
"The primary motivation would have been to respect the reputation of the church," he said.
"I don't think many, if any, persons in the leadership of the Catholic Church knew what a horrendous widespread mess we were sitting on."
Cardinal Pell, who strongly denied any involvement in covering up abuse, was pushed to explain his relationship with former Ballarat priest Gerald Ridsdale, whom he accompanied to court when Ridsdale pleaded guilty to a raft of child sex offences. He said Ridsdale's lawyers had asked him to accompany the pedophile priest.
Cardinal Pell previously has described his action as "a priestly act of solidarity", and yesterday said he had a general principle to accompany parishioners to court whenever he was asked.
"I regret that it has caused such angst amongst victims," Cardinal Pell said. "It was never intended to provoke that. I wasn't in any sense a close friend of his . . . I didn't know him particularly well."
Cardinal Pell said the former Melbourne archbishop, the late Frank Little, did cover up offences in one instance and did not speak to anybody about the offending.
"Yes, archbishop Little did cover up but he inherited a situation where there were no protocols and no procedures and, for some strange reason, he never spoke to anybody about it," he said.
Cardinal Pell said he had discovered "in the last few weeks" that former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns had destroyed documents.
The inquiry has heard that Bishop Mulkearns was aware of child abuse accusations against Ridsdale but simply moved him to a different parish.
"His actions were followed by disastrous consequences," Cardinal Pell said.
Cardinal Pell dismissed questions on why Victorian compensation levels remained capped at $75,000 per victim compared with million-dollar payouts overseas.
"We are always ready to pay whatever the law of the land says about compensation," he told the inquiry. "I don't believe we have a moral obligation to match the unusual figures from the United States."
With about 250 abuse victims and campaigners watching on, the most senior Catholic cleric in Australia said he was "fully apologetic and absolutely sorry" but angrily rejected claims he had wanted to "play Pontius Pilate" and wash his hands of the allegations.
"There is no doubt about it that it is a foul crime," Cardinal Pell said. "Many in the church did not understand just what damage was being done to the victims, and we understand that now."
While the cardinal remained polite throughout more than four hours of questioning, he grew increasingly curt as the parliamentary committee grilled him, particularly when its members drew comparisons between Australian experiences and the response to child sexual abuse in the US and Ireland.
"The gravity of the derelictions there (in Ireland) are not exactly the same as they are here," he said.
Cardinal Pell said he would be "very surprised" if priests had committed hundreds of rapes in Australia, saying it was not helpful to "extend our radical condemnation" based on the cases that had come to light.
He vehemently rejected claims that there had been a "culture of abuse" among priests.
"The problems are in errors of judgment or inactivity of church officials," he said. "There was a fear of scandal."
Asked why there had been so many instances of abuse, Cardinal Pell said celibacy might have been a factor in some cases.
Dozens of spectators turned their backs and left when Cardinal Pell began to read a final statement.
Earlier, angry interjections and loud groans had peppered the cardinal's lengthy testimony.
Anthony Foster, whose two young daughters were raped by a priest, said outside the hearing that he was saddened by the senior church leader's attitude.
"What we need is real care for victims," Mr Foster said. "I heard what I expected."
Care Leavers Australia Network spokeswoman Leonie Sheedy said the cardinal's evidence had been "frustrating" and often arrogant.
Cardinal Pell served as a priest in Ballarat from 1966, dealing with a number of colleagues who were later revealed as pedophiles.
As Melbourne archbishop in 1996, he was one of the architects of the Melbourne Response, which formalised the church's process for dealing with abuse complaints but has been strongly criticised by some victims who claim it has been designed to protect the church and limit compensation.
His evidence came at the last public hearing before the committee is due to report at the end of September.