Catholic Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli says he believes sex offender Cardinal George Pell’s claims of innocence and that its possible the victim identified the wrong person as his abuser.
Archbishop Comensoli said today he believed the victim but said it was possible he had identified the wrong person to police.
“I believe in what he said to me, on many occasions, that he’s innocent and I continue to be really quite shocked with all of how things are developed,” he told 3AW.
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“I believe both (men)... I genuinely think that I can take on my knowledge of the man in terms of George Pell and accept what he has said to me, I can also take on what I’ve heard of (the victim) and what he said in terms of abuse.”
The disgraced cardinal who was once among the most powerful figures in the Vatican, now has 28 days to apply for appeal to the High Court after his appeal was quashed by Victoria’s Supreme Court yesterday.
Pell did not appeal his six-year sentence, so it stands, along with a minimum three years and eight months before he’s eligible for parole. The earliest Pell can be released is October 2022, when he will be 81.
Archbishop Comensoli said Pell, 78, could die in prison if the application failed.
“He’s an old man, his health’s never been real good for a while,” he said.
The Vatican press office released a statement acknowledging the Court of Appeal’s decision and said it would wait until any further appeals are exhausted before taking action.
“As the proceedings continue to develop, the Holy See recalls that the Cardinal has always maintained his innocence throughout the judicial process and that it is his right to appeal to the High Court,” press officer Matteo Bruni said. The Vatican has previously flagged its own internal investigation into the evidence against Pell.
One of Pell’s victims died in 2014, while the other gave evidence at his trial. In their 325-page decision on Wednesday, Chief Justice Anne Ferguson and President Chris Maxwell found that man, now in his 30s, came across as truthful. But in his dissenting judgment, Justice Mark Weinberg highlighted inconsistencies in the victim’s evidence.
The man said after the court decision that he felt a responsibility to come forward after the death of the other victim, his childhood friend. “The experiences I have been through have helped me understand what is truly important,” he said.
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Remy Varga is a reporter at The Australian. She has a Masters in Journalism from UTS and a BA in Modern History and Spanish and Latin American studies. She spends her time stalking politicians on Twitter.
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