Pell knew in 1982 that Ridsdale was being moved to keep lid on scandal - The Age

“We do not accept that Bishop Mulkearns lied to his consultors.”

“Cardinal Pell’s evidence that ‘paedophilia was not mentioned’ and that the ‘true’ reason was not given is not accepted. It is implausible given the matters set out above that Bishop Mulkearns did not inform those at the meeting of at least complaints of sexual abuse of children having been made.”

Bishop Ronald Mulkearns officiates at a mass in 1980.

The commission found that, even though bishop Mulkearns made the final decision to shift Ridsdale to another parish to avoid scandal – a recurring practice by Mulkearns described by the commission as an “extraordinary and inexcusable failure” and “appalling conduct” – the failure of Cardinal Pell and other consultors to advise against it was unacceptable.

Cardinal Pell in his testimony to the royal commission was critical of Mulkearns and another priest responsible for earlier appointing Ridsdale to the small parish of Inglewood when they knew of allegations of child sexual abuse against him.

The finding means that Cardinal Pell was aware of allegations of sexual abuse against Ridsdale at least a decade before Ridsdale’s offending was investigated by police and possibly earlier; the commission noted it would be “surprised” if Mulkearns deceived Cardinal Pell at a 1977 College of Consultors meeting when Ridsdale’s appointment to the Edenhope parish was discussed.

The finding is damaging to Cardinal Pell and provides further evidence of the blind spot Australia’s most senior Catholic had towards Ridsdale, a prolific child sex offender who Cardinal Pell shared a home with in the 1970s and accompanied to court in 1993 and offered to provide character evidence for.

Gerald Ridsdale outside court in 1993, accompanied by George Pell.Credit:Geoff Ampt

However, in other instances of alleged neglect of victims of abuse in the Ballarat diocese, the royal commission accepted Cardinal Pell’s testimony over that of his accusers.

The most serious allegation aired in the royal commission against Cardinal Pell was that, in 1983, he offered to bribe David Ridsdale to take allegations of sexual abuse against his uncle to a church hearing, rather than police.

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David Ridsdale testified that he told Cardinal Pell in a February 1983 phone call that Gerard Ridsdale had sexually abused him, to which Cardinal Pell allegedly responded: “I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet.”

Mr Ridsdale’s account was supported by his two sisters, Patricia Ridsdale and Bernadette Lukaitis, who each told the royal commission their brother called them shortly after his conversation with Cardinal Pell and said the then bishop had tried to bribe him.

Cardinal Pell recalled having a phone conversation with Mr Ridsdale at the time but denied the words attributed to him or that he ever tried to buy Mr Ridsdale’s silence. “I never impeded or discouraged anyone from going to the police,” he told the royal commission.

The royal commission found David Ridsdale was an honest witness but the conversation didn’t take place as he described.

“We are not satisfied that Bishop Pell said the words attributed to him or otherwise sought to obtain Mr Ridsdale’s silence. It is more likely that Mr Ridsdale misinterpreted an offer by Bishop Pell to assist as something more sinister,” it found.

The royal commission found that in two other instances, Cardinal Pell was falsely accused by otherwise honest witnesses in apparent cases of mistaken identity.

Edward Dowlan pictured in 1994.Credit:Geoff Ampt

The first centred on an allegation dating back nearly 50 years. A former student of Ballarat’s St Patrick’s College testified that he told Cardinal Pell in either 1973 or 1974 that a teacher at the school, Edward Dowlan, was beating and molesting another boy. According to the unidentified witness, Cardinal Pell reacted angrily and told him to go away.

Dowlan, a notorious Christian Brother paedophile, has since been convicted of 42 counts of child sex offences between 1971 and 1985.

Cardinal Pell told the royal commission that the exchange with the boy didn’t happen and that at the time, he was not living at the St Patrick’s presbytery, where the conversation was alleged to have taken place. The royal commission found the boy must have spoken to a priest other than Cardinal Pell.

“We do not doubt that BWF went to the St Patrick’s presbytery and reported to a priest that BWG had been beaten and molested by Dowlan and that the priest responded generally as he alleged. However, while we accept that BWF genuinely believes he spoke to Father Pell, we are not satisfied he did. We do not know the identity of the priest he did speak to.”

The royal commission made a similar finding about another alleged incident in which a boy said he overheard a comment made by Cardinal Pell at a funeral in reference to Gerard Ridsdale, when he allegedly said: “Gerry’s been rooting boys again.”

Cardinal Pell said the allegation was “demonstrably false.”

The royal commission found Cardinal Pell didn’t attend the funeral and didn’t make the comment. “The evidence leads us to conclude that the event as described by BWE is unlikely to have occurred. It is likely that he overheard the conversation. However, that conversation was not between the priests he nominated and was not in the context of that particular funeral.”

In another instance, the royal commission accepted the evidence of Timothy Green that in 1974, he tried to bring concerns about Dowlan to Cardinal Pell and was met with resistance.

The Eureka pool in Ballarat.Credit:AAP

Mr Green relayed to the royal commission a conversation he had with Cardinal Pell in the changerooms at Ballarat’s Eureka Pool, when he told him words to the effect: “We’ve got to do something about what’s going on at St Pat’s ... Brother Dowlan is touching little boys.” Mr Green testified that Cardinal Pell said the suggestion was ridiculous and walked out of the changerooms.

The royal commission found: “There is no evidence to suggest that Mr Green’s identification of Father Pell is mistaken.”

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or beyondblue 1300 224 636.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWFnZS5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvcGVsbC1rbmV3LWluLTE5ODItdGhhdC1yaWRzZGFsZS13YXMtbW92ZWQtdG8tc2F2ZS1jaHVyY2gtZnJvbS1zY2FuZGFsLTIwMjAwNTA3LXA1NHFyOS5odG1s0gF9aHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlYWdlLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9wZWxsLWtuZXctaW4tMTk4Mi10aGF0LXJpZHNkYWxlLXdhcy1tb3ZlZC10by1zYXZlLWNodXJjaC1mcm9tLXNjYW5kYWwtMjAyMDA1MDctcDU0cXI5Lmh0bWw?oc=5

2020-05-07 03:59:34Z
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