Monday, 3 June 2002

Pell admits cash offer for silence, The Australian, 3 June, 2002.

Pell admits cash offer for silence: [2 Edition]

John Stapleton, Nicole StrahanThe Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 June 2002: 3.
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CATHOLIC Archbishop of Sydney George Pell has admitted offering the family of two child sex abuse victims $50,000 if they kept silent about the assaults by a cleric.
Supporters of Dr Pell rallied outside Nine's Sydney studios yesterday prior to the airing of the allegations. They waved placards such as "Say no to trial by media" and "Viva Archbishop Pell".
Also on the program David Ridsdale claimed his uncle, convicted pedophile priest Gerald, had sex with him repeatedly between the ages of 11 and 15, sometimes in a car on the way to mass. Mr Ridsdale several times repeated the accusation that when he approached Dr Pell for assistance, the priest went into immediate damage control, saying: "I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet." Mr Ridsdale claimed that Dr Pell made him feel "that I was at fault". As calls for a royal commission into the Catholic Church's handling of sex abuse allegations intensified, John Howard dismissed the idea, saying the problem was an internal church matter.

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