Victims call for top cardinal to resign over child sex abuse
Source: AFP |
May 29, 2013, Wednesday
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VICTIMS of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy in Australia and their supporters yesterday called for the resignation of the church's top ranking cardinal, saying they were unimpressed with his apology.
Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell on Monday appeared at a Victorian state government inquiry into the criminal abuse of children, admitting to cover-ups by a predecessor and saying he was "absolutely sorry."
"I am fully apologetic and absolutely sorry," said Pell, who said he never hid any allegations himself and had seen to it that protocols were put in place to deal with cases of sex abuse.
But many in the public gallery of the hearing were left unmoved by the statements from Pell, a former archbishop of the Victorian capital Melbourne.
Stephen Woods, who suffered at the hands of a paedophile priest, said he was surprised by Pell's comments that he acted in the best interests of victims.
"The little care for the victims that he showed, showed that they still don't get it," Woods said. "He needs to resign."
Victims' campaigner Helen Last said Pell should be removed given his admissions that the church covered up crimes in order to protect its reputation.
"He is actually incompetent when it comes to running such a difficult area that we're dealing with here, where there's so many complexities for people, there's so many issues to do with offenders, the victims, the family and the church itself," she told the ABC.
"He just showed once again that basically he's not set up to be doing it and I really think that the church should put someone else in there."
The Victorian inquiry looked into the abuse of children by non-government and religious bodies triggered by investigations into the suicide of dozens of child sex abuse victims.
The Catholic Church in Victoria has admitted there were 620 cases of criminal child abuse dating back to the 1930s.
Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell on Monday appeared at a Victorian state government inquiry into the criminal abuse of children, admitting to cover-ups by a predecessor and saying he was "absolutely sorry."
"I am fully apologetic and absolutely sorry," said Pell, who said he never hid any allegations himself and had seen to it that protocols were put in place to deal with cases of sex abuse.
But many in the public gallery of the hearing were left unmoved by the statements from Pell, a former archbishop of the Victorian capital Melbourne.
Stephen Woods, who suffered at the hands of a paedophile priest, said he was surprised by Pell's comments that he acted in the best interests of victims.
"The little care for the victims that he showed, showed that they still don't get it," Woods said. "He needs to resign."
Victims' campaigner Helen Last said Pell should be removed given his admissions that the church covered up crimes in order to protect its reputation.
"He is actually incompetent when it comes to running such a difficult area that we're dealing with here, where there's so many complexities for people, there's so many issues to do with offenders, the victims, the family and the church itself," she told the ABC.
"He just showed once again that basically he's not set up to be doing it and I really think that the church should put someone else in there."
The Victorian inquiry looked into the abuse of children by non-government and religious bodies triggered by investigations into the suicide of dozens of child sex abuse victims.
The Catholic Church in Victoria has admitted there were 620 cases of criminal child abuse dating back to the 1930s.
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