Allegations of abuse in the room

adminonNovember 29, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Cardinal George Pell © Gregorio Borgia

One of the highest-ranking cardinals in the Vatican, finance chief George Pell, temporarily resigns in light of abuse allegations in his native Australia. Pell, however, stressed the allegations were completely false.

Pope Francis has suspended Curia Cardinal George Pell, who is under suspicion of abuse, from his post as Vatican finance chief. This is being done so that Pell can face a court in his native Australia, it said Thursday. At the same time, Pope Francis stressed that Pell had publicly condemned the sexual abuse of minors in the past and had always cooperated closely with Australian authorities.

Investigation

Earlier, Australian police announced they had opened an investigation into Pell, which, according to Victoria State Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton, involves allegations of abuse that date back some time. There should be several plaintiffs. Patton did not provide further details. Pell is expected to take up the post on 18. July to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court.

Pell rejects allegations

Pell denied the abuse allegations. "I have continually and clearly insisted on completely rejecting such accusations," the Australian-born curia cardinal said Thursday morning at the Vatican. He has informed Pope Francis of the developments and will travel to Australia in consultation with his doctors and lawyers "to clear my name," Pell said.

The curia cardinal will no longer participate in public liturgical celebrations, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said. The Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, over which Pell presides, would continue its work as usual in his absence.

The cardinal had already been questioned in Rome in October 2016 by Australian police officers about the abuse allegations. Two men over 40 years old accuse Pell of sexually molesting them in a Ballarat swimming pool in the 1970s. At the time, Pell was a priest in the city.

In 2014, Pope Francis appointed the then-Archbishop of Sydney as prefect of the newly created Vatican Secretariat for the Economy. Pell is also a member of the Council of Cardinals, which advises the pope on curia reform.

Cover-up allegations

Allegations of sexual abuse against Pell had also arisen earlier. In 2002, Pell was cleared of abuse allegations by a Melbourne Archdiocese commission of inquiry for lack of evidence. A man had accused Pell of sexually abusing him as a 12-year-old at a Catholic youth camp.

Cardinal Pell has also long faced accusations of involvement in covering up abuse cases as a priest in Ballarat and later as archbishop of Melbourne. In his testimony before the state abuse commission, Pell had vigorously denied allegations of covering up abuse cases.

As Archbishop of Melbourne, however, Pell had also set the first standards for dealing with abuse cases with the "Melbourne Response".

Before the deliberations of the EU heads of state and government on the future of the new EU Treaty, the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, unequivocally declared his support for the Treaty of Lisbon. He expressly supports the treaty, even if it does not fulfill all the expectations of the church, said Zollitsch on Wednesday evening in Brussels.

The archbishop criticized that in the Irish referendum campaign, the "no" campaigners had used arguments "that are clearly not true". As examples, the bishops' conference president cited abortion, equality for homosexual unions and the country's neutrality. Opponents of the treaty had argued that Ireland would lose its decision-making powers here if the Lisbon Treaty came into force. In the process, he said, fears had been worked on "that do not correspond to the facts". Zollitsch reported that the Catholic bishops in Ireland were in favor of the new EU treaty. He was therefore very confident that "Ireland is on the right track" and will find a way to ratify the treaty. Time is needed for this, he said, and a lot of detailed work needs to be done. The archbishop admitted that the church would have liked to see a reference to God or a commitment to the Christian-Jewish heritage in the preamble of the new EU treaty. Zollitsch called for ways to breathe life into the dialogue with the churches provided for in the new EU treaty. The large annual rounds of meetings between EU leaders and religious leaders were not enough for this purpose. What is needed is an exchange of views and a genuine dialogue at various levels, the archbishop said. At the EU summit this afternoon, Irish head of government Brian Cowen is to report on the consequences of the "No" vote on the Lisbon Treaty in the June referendum. After that, the heads of state and government want to find a way to get the treaty to enter into force after all. Observers expect Ireland to vote a second time in fall 2009. Zollitsch held talks with EU leaders on Wednesday and Thursday. His interlocutors included European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering, German EU Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, the leader of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Martin Schulz (SPD) and CDU MEP Hartmut Nassauer. The bishops' conference president also spoke with the chairman of the European Parliament's catch committee, Jo Leinen (SPD) and German EU ambassador Edmund Duckwitz. When asked, the archbishop said he had found a lot of understanding everywhere in his talks about what was a concern for the church. In addition to the Treaty of Lisbon and the values of the EU, the growing relationship between church and state was also a topic of discussion. His interlocutors had expressed a wish for the Church to help explain to people what Europe means.

The Protestant Church in Germany wants to significantly expand its measures for coming to terms with sexualized violence. A central contact point and new studies on dealing with abuse are planned.

The Diakonie announced its own investigation. The Federal Government Commissioner for Abuse, Johannes-Wilhelm Rorig, called for a swift reappraisal of the matter. The council of affected persons demanded a binding implementation of the plan. Konstantin von Notz, religious affairs commissioner of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, welcomed the action plan of the Protestant church.

According to EKD information, about one million euros are earmarked for the implementation of a corresponding 11-point plan for the coming year. Hamburg Bishop Kirsten Fehrs had presented the action plan to the EKD Synod.

Specific risk factors

Fehrs explained that, from a systemic point of view, the Protestant church has very specific risk factors. These would have to be analyzed more clearly than before in order to address them. In the run-up to the synod, the EKD had formed a five-member council of commissioners. Fehrs is spokeswoman for this new body.

Von Notz told the Catholic News Agency (KNA) that it was right and important for the Protestant Church to actively deal with the individual and institutional processing of the cases of abuse within its own ranks. With the 11-point plan, it has created a concrete guideline for action.

Own diaconia study important

Diakonie President Ulrich Lilie explained that people who entrusted their children and relatives to Diakonie facilities must be able to regain trust. He emphasized the necessity of a separate study for the Diakonie: "The situation of an adolescent in a socio-educational care facility is quite different from that, for example, in confirmation classes, with other factors of power and dependence."

Rorig said in response to a question that it was important that each of the 20 regional churches quickly began to work on the ie. Not only a few regional churches should take on a pioneering role. Like the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church would also have to reach binding agreements with the federal government and possibly also with the states on criteria and standards for reprocessing. These could include, for example, how those affected would be involved in the respective reappraisal processes in the future and how access to files or compensation would be regulated.

"Commitment is missing"

The Council of Concerned Persons, which was based at the council, called for an implication of the points promised in the EKD report. There was a lack of "necessary commitment". This must be made up for as quickly and clearly as possible and secured through a mandate for the Council of Commissioners.

He also advocates a nationwide campaign to show that the Protestant Church is "actively approaching those affected.

Like the Betroffenenrat, the independent Aufarbeitungskommission welcomed in principle the EKD's approach and the EKD's clear commitment to "its own responsibility for the children and youth entrusted to it". The commission stressed that talks were planned between the two major churches and the commission. In addition, the commission is working on guidelines for future reappraisal processes in institutions.

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