Courtney McGrail
An Australian commission examining cases of clerical child sex abuse has been urged to discount oral testimony from Cardinal George Pell, who is linked to the case of abuser priest Fr Peter Searson in the 1980s.
In a submission to the Royal Commission, lawyers Gail Furness and Stephen Free insist that the claim of then Auxiliary Bishop Pell of Melbourne that he had been deceived by the Catholic Education Office (CEO) of Fr Searson’s proclivities did not stand up.
“The royal commission should find that the CEO officers had no motive to deceive Cardinal Pell and did not do so,” the lawyers wrote.
Throughout his time in the Melbourne archdiocese, Fr Searson was responsible for a litany of psychological and sexual abuses against minors. It has been stated before the commission that this resulted in a delegation of teachers communicating their concerns to Bishop Pell, though in his own testimony earlier this year, Cardinal Pell stated that although he had heard of concerns the CEO had not made him fully aware of matters surrounding the errant priest.
In response to the submission, lawyers for cardinal Pell have pointed out that in the late 1980s, the prelate had less information regarding Fr Searson that the local police force.