The head of the Catholic Church in Australila was embroiled in a sex abuse controversy yesterday, only days before Pope Benedict arrives in Sydney for a visit that could see abuse victims staging protest.
Cardinal George Pell denied he misled a man complaining of sexual abuse by a Sydney priest when he wrote him a letter in 2003 saying his abuse claim was rejected because there were no other complaints against the same priest.
Australian television reported that Pell wrote another letter on the same day to a different man saying his claim of sexual abuse by the same priest was upheld.
"Cardinal Pell misrepresented the truth. It destroyed my faith," Anthony Jones told the ABC's Lateline programme.
"He had to know that there was other complaints because he wrote to the man who as an 11-year-old boy was assaulted by Father Goodall on the same day," said Jones.
Priest Terence Goodall was convicted in 2005 of indecently asssaulting Jones in 1982.
Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and brothers are calling on Pope Benedict to apologise when he arrives in Sydney on Sunday for World Youth Day, July 15-20. The Pope confronted the issue of sexual abuse in the Church during a visit to Washington in April, meeting victims and vowing to keep paedophiles out of the priesthood.
Broken Rites, which represents abuse victims in Australia, has a list of 107 convictions for church abuse, but says the real number of cases is far greater as only a handful go to court.
Pell said in a statement yesterday that "there was no attempt at a cover-up" in dealing with Jones' abuse case. "I apologise for the confusion caused to 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."
President of Broken Rites, Chris McIsaac, said the Catholic Church's system of reviewing allegations of sexulal abuse was internal and had no transparency.
"We have complaints all the time about the Church's process. But this case shows the great weakness of the process," McIsaac told ABC television.
"We're asking for a papal apology that's absolutely meaningful, meaningful with further action, that will bring process into play that will allow for transparency," said McIsaac.
*Rail workers last night called off plans for a 24-hour strike during World Youth Day after a breakthrough in pay talks with the NSW Government.
Reuters, AAP
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