*I do agree however, that Priests should not be forbidden to marry, and the RC Church acknowledge that this is a man made law.*

Ah, but that would cost the church far too much money! All those
wives and kids to feed. Its much cheaper this way. Don't forget
that running all that pomp and splendor in Rome is not cheap.

Hi to all the forgotten australians ,

we are the victims of rapes and abuse and slavery and much more than you can imagine,

we are the victims of ritual abuse in the states run institutions and churches of which the state of new south wales still cover up , till this day,

as for cardinal pell well he is just another digraces for us victims that suffered abuse in the institutions through out australia ,

he denies he lied , yet statements prove he did know about sexual abuse in the church homes ,

and surely he is aware that their are victims who were under state control that were raped and abused , dating back many many years ,

the state of new south wales is just as bad as cardinal pell because they too keep covering up and hiding the truth of what we victims suffered in the states run institutions,

yesterday on sky news ,cardinal pell was asked this question

does the pope know of this and will you tell him

pell replied no and it will be after world youth day before he speaks of this to the pope

how disgraceful cardinal pell you should be a shamed and be stood down for lying , about the cover up , as that of the state of new south wales as well ,for the abuse the victims suffered in the states institutions ,

from a real victim that was raped and abused in the states run institution daruk boys home , ( dharruk training centre ) windsor new south wales , now the john moroney correctional centre ,

the goverment the churches and the courts need to stand up and addmitt to the truth of what we victims suffered , and to give us all justice and a apology

i will not stop my fight for justice.

regards huffnpuff

mjpb, your defense of Cardinal Pell – ‘The innuendo is that Pell was lying when he said he had "no idea"’ - is misguided.

From evidence given at Father Ridsdale’s three trials – at which he pleaded guilty – and from Pell’s own statements we know some facts:

- The Church knew in 1970-71 and maybe as early as 1961 that Ridsdale was a danger to young people. They organised sexual counseling for Ridsdale in 1970-71, the mid-70s, 1982 and 1990.
- Pell and Ridsdale knew each other well - same school, seminarians together and served together, shared the same house in Ballarat in 1973.
- The Church moved Ridsdale around at a bewildering rate whenever there was a complaint. Pell would have been curious about this.

It’s inconceivable that Pell didn’t know what was going on.

However, put that aside. What did Pell know when he supported Ridsdale in his court appearance in May 1993? (The Church offered the victims no support.)

60 Minutes 2 June 2002:
(http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/lossfaith2.htm)

RICHARD CARLETON: Did David Risdale tell you that his uncle, Gerald, Father Gerald, had been abusing him?
GEORGE PELL: Never. Never.
CARLETON: Never?
PELL: At any stage.
CARLETON: He says he did.
PELL: Well, that's completely false.
CARLETON: It didn't happen?
PELL: Didn't happen.
CARLETON: He says that in January 93 he rang you and told you.
PELL: Oh, well, that's 1993. I thought you were talking about back in the '70s. Risdale would have been in jail I think by then.

No, Ridsdale was not in jail at that time. Pell knew about Ridsdale in January/February, months before he went to court in support of Ridsdale in May.

Why would he say he knew nothing when clearly he did?

He is equally unconvincing in defence of the practice of offering hush money to victims in exchange for secrecy. Why hush money? Pell says: “Because many of them don't want to be subjected to publicity and of course it's shameful for the Church.”

Humbug!

For the full story on Ridsdale see Broken Rites http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/nletter/page116-ridsdale.html

Hi Foxy,

Do you feel that "where proven" bishops and their superiors cover-up illegal activities in relation to major crimes, these after-the-fact perpetrates should face a jury and potentially gaol?

On the Insiders about three weeks back it was reported that US Bishop of Boston skipped town and was given sactuary in the Vatican. I couldn't find the report on the Internet.

O.

Spikey,

“- Pell and Ridsdale knew each other well - same school, seminarians together and served together, shared the same house in Ballarat in 1973. “

I could have gone to the same school, same uni and worked in the same job as someone. That doesn’t mean that if I shared a house with them I’d automatically know they had a history of paedophilia. I would expect that they wouldn’t be boasting about something like that. Even if they went through school at the same time it doesn’t even guarantee they knew each other well. Besides Pell was born in 1941 while Ridsdale was born in 1934 you would hardly expect them to be close at school. If they also attended the same seminary at different times the proximity is even less.

”The Church moved Ridsdale around at a bewildering rate whenever there was a complaint. Pell would have been curious about this.”

How would he know? It didn’t happen while they were living together.

”It’s inconceivable that Pell didn’t know what was going on.”

Why? From the facts you present it would be surprising if he did.

”Why would he say he knew nothing when clearly he did?”

Didn’t he say he knew nothing about it when he was living with Ridsdale? That was in the 70s.

runner,
>>I would like to know if their are a higher percentage of paedophiles among the Catholic Priests than the rest of society. If so why? No doubt it would be politically correct to find this out. Less politically correct would be to find out what percentage of these abusers are homosexual. No one would dare go there!<<

You might want to check

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/reports/2004_02_27_JohnJay/index.html#exec
or
http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2007d/111607/111607r.htm
or
http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1267.