Child sex abuse victims to hear cardinal’s testimony in Rome

Ballarat victim Andrew Collins said it was important Cardinal Pell’s evidence was given under the same conditions as survivors, in a public forum rather than sitting in a room by himself.

“The allegations are without foundation and utterly false”, the statement said.

But Treasurer Tim Pallas said an inquiry was not necessary.

Vatican finance chief Pell, who has claimed he is the subject of a smear campaign, has said he is too unwell to travel to Australia and will give evidence via video-link from Rome next week.

The Sun Herald newspaper reported late Friday that Cardinal George Pell was being investigated by Australian police over allegations of abuse while he was serving in senior positions within the Catholic Church in Australia.

“The commission considers that to be a reasonable request”, McClellan said.

Pell has called for a public inquiry to be conducted into police in the state of Victoria, saying the allegations were leaked “to do maximum damage” before he gives evidence at the end of the month to a child abuse inquiry in his homeland.

Cardinal Pell was a priest in Ballarat and lived together with Ridsdale in the early 1970s.

“All I’m putting as a very simple proposition, and it’s this: that where on the eve of the appearance of the key witness to the royal commission, which is investigating two institutions, and where the key witness has been the head of one of those institutions and where people from a second institution have been instrumental in leaking material to the media in order to discredit that witness, that is risky territory for a royal commission to be able to do its work dispassionately”.

Pell said in a statement last week that he would cooperate with whatever arrangements the royal commission made for his testimony.

Cardinal Pell giving evidence at a previous hearing of the royal commission in Sydney.

“It is outrageous that these allegations have been brought to the cardinal’s attention through a media leak”, it said.

Pell, 74, is expected to be asked about his knowledge of measures taken by the Roman Catholic Church to handle child abuse complaints in the country town of Ballarat, where he was born and served as a priest from 1973 to 1983.

“These un-detailed allegations have not been raised with the Cardinal by the police and the false claims investigated by Justice Southwell have been ignored by the police for over 15 years, despite the very transparent way they were dealt with by the Cardinal and the Catholic Church”.

The article detailed allegations the Cardinal sexually abused between five and 10 boys in Victoria dating back to 1961.