Archbishop of Melbourne says George Pell remains a friend, apologises to abuse victims
The Archbishop of Melbourne says George Pell remains a friend as he revealed he would visit him in prison if the convicted child sex offender was to be jailed.
Speaking the day after it was revealed that Pell had been found guilty in December of five counts of child sexual abuse, Archbishop Peter Comensoli said Cardinal George Pell had been a "good teacher" to him.
"Cardinal Pell has been a friend of mine for a number of years, a good teacher to me, so I remain a friend and I don't shy away from that," he told radio station 3AW.
"But as the Archbishop of Melbourne I separate that sort of sense of a personal relationship to how do I as Archbishop of Melbourne reach out to our own people especially those being harmed by sexual abuse...within the life of the Church especially the communities that have been harmed as well. "
When asked if he would visit him in prison if he was to be jailed, the Archbishop responded that he would.
He conceded trust in the Catholic Church had been severely damaged.
"I think people are really hurting," Archbishop Comensoli said when asked how Catholics have reacted to the news of Pell's conviction.
In another interview with ABC on Wednesday morning Archbishop Comensoli moved to apologise to all victims of child sex abuse by clergy and the broader community for the church’s treatment of those who were abused.
"To those people I say firstly sorry, I want to say sorry" he said. "To all of you who have been abused and the community and the efforts to cover up and obfuscate."
Archbishop Comensoli resisted calls for the rules of confession to change so that priests are required to report admissions of abuse to police.
He also admitted the church had engaged in cover-ups and obfuscation in its dealings with victims, including via its Melbourne Response protocol for compensation, developed by Pell when he was Archbishop of Melbourne.
But, during the interview on ABC Melbourne, he also argued against immediately dismantling the Melbourne Response, even though most would pursue compensation through a national redress scheme, saying that he wanted to keep its pastoral care arm, Carelink, to support victims.
"One hundred and 30 people have come forward in the Melbourne Response. I’ve talked to a number of them. A lot have come out of it quite brutalised, but that’s not the experience of most who have come forward," he said, adding that the church had paid out $34 million in compensation via that protocol.
"I think there needs to be a rebuilding of trust. I need to make myself trustworthy. If they’re seeking someone to sue, I make myself available legally, that’s the normal process now."
He said he felt Pell’s trial had been fair, and that most of those who had criticised the verdict had not heard the evidence that the jury had considered.
"You and I might have a belief about where the matter stands but neither of us were in the court.
"The jury heard both sides and have come to the judgment they have.
"Similarly in the appeal the judges will hear both sides."
He said neither the archdiocese nor the church had funded Pell’s legal defence.
Archbishop Comensoli also revealed the church had been contacted by a number of victims in the wake of Pell's conviction.
"There are others who made contact yesterday and I suspect ... more will to say 'I was abused'," he said.