Pell under fire over abuse remarks
July 29, 2002
A CHILD protection advocate has called for a royal commission into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church following reports that Archbishop George Pell described it as less of a crime than abortion.
Archbishop George Pell. File photo
Pope tells of abuse 'shame'
According to Canada's national Globe and Mail newspaper, Dr Pell made the comments to 500 young Roman Catholic delegates at a World Youth Day forum in Toronto.
Dr Pell's office in Sydney today refused to comment on the report, saying it would wait until he returned at the end of the week.
It was reported Dr Pell made the comments in response to a question from an American youth minister, who wanted to know what Catholics should say when someone asked them about the sex scandal currently afflicting the church in the United States.
The paper said Dr Pell told his audience that abortion was a worse moral scandal than priests sexually abusing young people.
When asked to clarify he said: "Because it's (abortion) always a destruction of human life," the paper reported.
Dr Pell said he wasn't trying to downplay abuse, but the issue had received a lot of attention to the detriment of other matters, the paper said.
Sydney-based child protection advocate Hetty Johnston said the comments were astonishing and outrageous and a royal commission must be established to fully expose just how endemic the problem was.
"According to the view of George Pell, and in effect the Catholic Church, it's not OK to harm a child in the womb but it's not so bad if you harm a child outside it," Ms Johnston, who runs victim support network Bravehearts, said today.
"It's so disappointing that with everything that's happened over the last 12 months, it appears that the (Catholic Church) leaders still don't get it."
Ms Johnston said the church, which purports to be society's moral leader, continued to ignore the "incredible trauma" being afflicted on children.
Most Catholic parishioners would be as distraught as child protection advocates to hear Dr Pell's comments and it was time for the church to do something about it, she said.
"We know it's expensive, we know that the sector needs money to help children but we need a royal commission to expose the truth."
Pope John Paul, also in Canada for World Youth Day, said the sexual abuse scandals rocking his church caused "a deep sense of sadness and shame," but he urged Catholic youth to support the vast majority of priests who do good.
AAP
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