Pell 'didn't mislead abuse victim'

Tag: australia
CARDINAL George Pell said he did not mislead a victim of sexual assault, after allegations emerged he erroneously dismissed a complaint made against a Catholic priest.

The leading Catholic cleric said he had sent a letter to the victim, Anthony Jones, that was "badly worded and a mistake" and any fault in the drafting of the letter was his. ABC Television's Lateline program aired the allegations last night, saying the Archbishop of Sydney misled Mr Jones and sought to dismiss his complaint.

The ABC reported that Cardinal Pell, the head of the Catholic Church in Australia, gave misleading information to Mr Jones in 2003.

The sexual abuse victim alleged he was abused by Catholic priest Terrence Goodall 20 years earlier.

In a letter obtained by the ABC, Cardinal Pell told Mr Jones the allegation had not been substantiated because the church had not received any other complaints against Father Goodall.

But another letter from Cardinal Pell, signed the same day and obtained by the ABC, was sent to a second man who also claimed to have been abused by Father Goodall.

In the second letter, Cardinal Pell told the man his complaint had been substantiated.

Mr Jones accused Cardinal Pell of getting it wrong.

"Cardinal Pell misrepresented the truth," he told ABC Television.

"I now hate Catholicism because of what Cardinal Pell has done to me, more so than what Father Goodall did to me."

Father Goodall was later convicted of indecently assaulting Mr Jones.

But Cardinal Pell, in response to the Lateline program, denied he had misled Mr Jones.

"The letter to Mr Jones was badly worded and a mistake - an attempt to inform him there was no other allegation of rape," Cardinal Pell said.

"However, I signed both letters of February 2003 mentioned in the ABC's Lateline program, and any fault in the drafting was mine.

"In a subsequent letter soon after the February 2003 letter, I expressed my sorrow at what Mr Jones had suffered and offered to meet him.

"There was no attempt to mislead him. I apologise for the confusion caused to Mr Jones."

The allegations come just days before the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI - and an expected 200,000 pilgrims - in Sydney for World Youth Day.

Cardinal Pell yesterday said the Pope was likely to apologise to victims of sexual abuse during his visit.

He denied trying to cover up the complaints against Father Goodall.

"There was no attempt at a cover-up," he said.

"When they (the offences) were reported on 6 June 2002, I commenced an investigation under the Towards Healing protocol.

"The accusations against Father Goodall were investigated by the Church and the police, and Father Goodall was stood down.

"Church authorities fully cooperated with the investigations."


Tag: pope-benedict-xvi
Tag: archbishop-of-sydney
Tag: george-pell
Tag: anthony-jones
Tag: terrence-goodall
Tag: world-youth-day
Tag: sydney
Tag: towards-healing-protocol
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,23986...02,00.html