Top Vatican cardinal questioned over sex abuse allegations

[webfact]

Top Vatican cardinal questioned over sex abuse allegations

By KRISTEN GELINEAU

 

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police flew to Rome to interview a top Vatican cardinal about allegations of sexual assault dating back decades, officials said Wednesday.

 

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis' top financial adviser and one of his most trusted aides, has long been dogged by allegations he mishandled cases of clergy abuse when he was archbishop of Melbourne and later Sydney. In recent months, Pell has faced accusations of child abuse himself when he was a young priest in the 1970s.

 

On Wednesday, police in Australia's Victoria state confirmed that they had interviewed Pell over the allegations.

 

"Three members of Victoria police traveled to Rome last week where Cardinal George Pell voluntarily participated in an interview regarding allegations of sexual assault," police spokeswoman Amara Bostock said. "As a result of the interview, further investigations are continuing. We are not prepared to comment further at this time."

 

The allegations involve two men, now in their 40s, who say Pell touched them inappropriately at a swimming pool in the late 1970s. Separately, a man told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that he saw Pell exposing himself to three young boys in a surf club changing room in the late 1980s. Pell was at the time a senior priest in Melbourne.

 

Pell has repeatedly denied the allegations and did so again on Wednesday.

 

"The Cardinal repeats his previous rejection of all and every allegation of sexual abuse and will continue to cooperate with Victoria Police until the investigation is finalized," Pell's office said in a statement.

 

In August, Pope Francis declined to address the accusations against Pell, saying he wanted to wait until the investigation was complete before commenting. "We must wait for justice and not make judgments ahead of time," the pope said in response to an Associated Press reporter aboard the papal plane.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-10-26

[Pimay1]

For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

[NeilSA1]

4 hours ago, Pimay1 said:

For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

 

...Oats ?  

[Chip Allen]

Shocking but not surprising. These thugs have a lot to answer for. 

[DoctorG]

Pell did not come across well in his recent testimony to the Royal commission. He has little credibility.

[Andaman Al]

5 hours ago, Pimay1 said:

For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

I assume you and your cohorts will all now apply the same standard to Trump? His allegations also go back decades yet you defend him, and try to trivialise his accusers.

ALL allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct should be taken seriously and then investigated. It is because they are not that victims do not come forward for decades.

[Pimay1]

5 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

I assume you and your cohorts will all now apply the same standard to Trump? His allegations also go back decades yet you defend him, and try to trivialise his accusers.

ALL allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct should be taken seriously and then investigated. It is because they are not that victims do not come forward for decades.

I don't recall Trump being mentioned in the OP. Off topic for sure.

[piersbeckett]

6 hours ago, Pimay1 said:

For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Amen

[Andaman Al]

15 minutes ago, Pimay1 said:

I don't recall Trump being mentioned in the OP. Off topic for sure.

But it is entirely on topic in terms of your consistency. One rule applies for all. You hope this Cardinal gets his comeuppance yet Trumps accusers are liars. It is on-topic. You are making comments on one thread on this very subject of sexual abuse and making entirely different comments on this thread.

[Pimay1]

6 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

But it is entirely on topic in terms of your consistency. One rule applies for all. You hope this Cardinal gets his comeuppance yet Trumps accusers are liars. It is on-topic. You are making comments on one thread on this very subject of sexual abuse and making entirely different comments on this thread.

Apples and oranges but we will agree to disagree.

[Andaman Al]

27 minutes ago, Pimay1 said:

Apples and oranges but we will agree to disagree.

 

So sexual abuse by a Cardinal committed decades ago, when his accusers never came forward for decades should be pushed to the full extent of the law, but Trumps accusers who did not come forward for decades are liars (had i been someone abused by Trump, seeing him on TV saying he is  innocent would definitely drive in me a time for retribution, how great to make him pay for his crimes at last)  A nice neat black and white world you live in. 

[mike324]

 

42 minutes ago, Pimay1 said:

Apples and oranges but we will agree to disagree.

 

didn't know you look at sexual abuse with "apples and oranges" analogies .... speechless

[sanemax]

53 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

But it is entirely on topic in terms of your consistency. One rule applies for all. You hope this Cardinal gets his comeuppance yet Trumps accusers are liars. It is on-topic. You are making comments on one thread on this very subject of sexual abuse and making entirely different comments on this thread.

 

   Maybe he thinks that Trumps accusers are lying and the person from this story is telling the truth ?

Or are you saying that people need to have the same opinion about both allegations ?

 

[7by7]

A, presumably, Muslim man gropes a girl on a plane and certain posters use that as an excuse to paint all his coreligionists as sexual perverts. As they do with every sexual assault case of any nature where the accused is a Muslim.

 

This is not the first child sex abuse allegation involving the Catholic church; many of which have been proven.

 

Yet those same posters are, as ever, silent on the matter.

 

Speaks volumes about those posters.

 

 

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, 7by7 said:

A, presumably, Muslim man gropes a girl on a plane and certain posters use that as an excuse to paint all his coreligionists as sexual perverts. As they do with every sexual assault case of any nature where the accused is a Muslim.

 

This is not the first child sex abuse allegation involving the Catholic church; many of which have been proven.

 

Yet those same posters are, as ever, silent on the matter.

 

Speaks volumes about those posters.

 

 

 

   So, thats Trump. a Muslim man on an aeroplane and Catholic priests and posters on TV.

And we need to compare all of them together and un named posters different reactions ?

 

 

 

[Andaman Al]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

 

   Maybe he thinks that Trumps accusers are lying and the person from this story is telling the truth ?

Or are you saying that people need to have the same opinion about both allegations ?

 

 

The reason on the Trump thread that people say the accusers are  lying is "why did it take the accusers 5, 10, 20, 30 years to come forward, why at an election for POTUS" ,  yet the accusers for the Cardinal also took 30 years to come forward so the Cardinal is a pervert as the accusers must be telling the truth.  Ergo - why not apply the same standard to their hero Trump? He is also a pervert according to the standard they apply to the Cardinal. In my eyes BOTH sets of victims/accusers need to be heard and not belittled as the way the evidence is mounting up they should both be locked up.

[sanemax]

5 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

 

The reason on the Trump thread that people say the accusers are  lying is "why did it take the accusers 5, 10, 20, 30 years to come forward, why at an election for POTUS" ,  yet the accusers for the Cardinal also took 30 years to come forward so the Cardinal is a pervert as the accusers must be telling the truth.  Ergo - why not apply the same standard to their hero Trump? He is also a pervert according to the standard they apply to the Cardinal. In my eyes BOTH sets of victims/accusers need to be heard and not belittled as the way the evidence is mounting up they should both be locked up.

 

    It just seems odd that Trumps accusers come forward just prior to an election .  The Cardinal isn't standing for an election .  Its quite possible that Trumps accusers are doing it for political purposes.  Or is it just a coincidence that they decided to make their allegations a few weeks before an election ?

 

[Reigntax]

3 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

 

So sexual abuse by a Cardinal committed decades ago, when his accusers never came forward for decades should be pushed to the full extent of the law, but Trumps accusers who did not come forward for decades are liars (had i been someone abused by Trump, seeing him on TV saying he is  innocent would definitely drive in me a time for retribution, how great to make him pay for his crimes at last)  A nice neat black and white world you live in. 

 

The abused did come forward and were mostly ignored or covered up by the church. Pell is a creep and under his watch many pedophile priests were transferred to other parishes where they continued to abuse even more children.

 

His lack of memory and change in his story/evidence over time confirms his knowledge but he choose the easy way out to protect the chuch and ignore those who were abused even going so far as to humilitate them. This from an organistation that preaches religious law and consider themselves representatives of god.

 

I dont remember Trump abusing any children nor being accused of it. I think hillary is just upset that he never made a pass at her. Bill's probably a bit upset also that she is still around.

[Prbkk]

3 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

 

So sexual abuse by a Cardinal committed decades ago, when his accusers never came forward for decades should be pushed to the full extent of the law, but Trumps accusers who did not come forward for decades are liars (had i been someone abused by Trump, seeing him on TV saying he is  innocent would definitely drive in me a time for retribution, how great to make him pay for his crimes at last)  A nice neat black and white world you live in. 

 

With respect, there is an enormous difference between the cases. Indeed, they have virtually nothing in common.

In the Pell case, we are talking about children: early teens or younger. This is a man who has spent his entire life moralising, proselytising, lecturing/hectoring others about their lifestyles. If these allegations are proven it would be the ultimate ghastly irony.

When provided with overwhelming evidence of abusive Priests under his jurisdiction he did absolutely nothing.

The stories emerging at this royal commission are harrowing, similar in nature to those at the Canadian commission about 30 years ago.

He has been hiding in The Vatican, protected it seems because he has good financial skills.

No valid comparison with Trump in this story.

[Andaman Al]

4 hours ago, Reigntax said:

I dont remember Trump abusing any children nor being accused of it. I think hillary is just upset that he never made a pass at her. Bill's probably a bit upset also that she is still around.

There is currently a case lodged in court with independent witnesses that Trump raped a 13 year old and 12 year old girl while in the company of Bernie Epstein. The rape occurred on 3 separate occasions. The case has been accepted by the court. Watch out for that one.

 

I take your point about accusers coming forward and being ignored or covered up by the Church. But what is happening in the US now? Accusers coming forward and being lambasted, ridiculed and claims that they are ALL lying. Think about it.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2016 by Andaman Al

[Andaman Al]

5 hours ago, sanemax said:

 

    It just seems odd that Trumps accusers come forward just prior to an election .  The Cardinal isn't standing for an election .  Its quite possible that Trumps accusers are doing it for political purposes.  Or is it just a coincidence that they decided to make their allegations a few weeks before an election ?

 

Imagine you have been abused, with years and years of being able to do nothing about it with such a wealthy powerful man, then your abuser gives you the opportunity by saying in a debate 'I have never done anything". What would you do? I would go for the ultimate revenge, my only opportunity for pay back. One woman had the courage and the rest took comfort in that and came out. Simple really.

 

The dichotomy I am trying to get across is this. With certain members on this forum they have a strange mind set. Accusations against Cardinal  - he is a pervert. Accusations against Clinton - he is a pervert. Accusations against Trump - his accusers are all lying.

 

Prbkk - I hope that clarifys my stand point. (oh and the description of what happened with Trump and the two young girls is also VERY harrowing).

Edited October 26, 2016 by Andaman Al