Father’s civil claim against against Cardinal Pell and Australian archdiocese to go forward

AC Wimmer   By AC Wimmer for CNA

 

St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Via Shutterstock / null

CNA Newsroom, Aug 25, 2022 / 07:15 am (CNA).

An Australian court on Wednesday ruled that a man can sue the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal George Pell for nervous shock over the alleged sexual abuse of his late son.

The man is the father of a former choirboy, who prosecutors alleged had been abused by Pell. His son died from an accidental drug overdose in 2014, having never made a complaint against Pell.

The father is seeking compensation in a civil case against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the 81-year-old Pell, who served as archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 to 2001.

According to court documents, the father claims his son was abused by Pell and died from a heroin overdose “caused by the psychological impact of the abuse.” In turn, he says, he suffered nervous shock for which he is making a claim against the archdiocese and the cardinal.

Australia’s High Court unanimously overturned Pell’s conviction for alleged sexual abuse on April 7, 2020. The cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, was released after more than 13 months of imprisonment and returned to Rome, where he had served as the Vatican’s economy czar.

The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled on Aug. 24 that the man can sue over the psychological harm he says he suffered over the death of his son.

According to a report by the Age, this decision could pave the way for other families to sue the Church.

Justice Michael McDonald ordered the archdiocese to pay the plaintiff’s legal costs, but not Pell, who he said played “no active role” in the hearing, the ABC reported.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Melbourne told the Age: “We acknowledge the judgment handed down by his honor … and will be working through what that means in coming days.”

The case will return to court at a later date.


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3 Comments

  1. Very sad to see the Aussies become as disgusting on their open persecution of the church as the Canadians. Pell was declared innocent by Australia’s highest court as the so-called evidence was obviously false. The father of this deeply troubled young man is looking for revenge and deep
    Pockets. Its a disgrace for their country that this obviously baseless lawsuit was permitted to go ahead. Disgusting.

    • A perplexing dilemma! Good people within the church have been unfairly tainted in the past and it well be the case with Pell. That I want him to be vindicated is one matter, perhaps a court of law is the place to settle the matter once and for all!

      In deference to the boys father, I can’t begin to know his pain. Invocations for him.

      God bless you as you walk with Jesus.

    • It is the father of the young man who took his life who is pursuing the Civil Claim not the father of the young man who undertook the prior legal case against Cardinal Pell.
      Leaving aside Cardinal Pell’s personal legal issues, the Catholic Church of Australia is far from exonerated in its response to the destruction of innocent lives by clergy who blatantly defiled the holy spirit. And as consistently denied by many who comment on matters pertaining to Cardinal Pell, his response to victims was and still is part of the problem not part of the solution.

      Saint Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Do you not understand that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, lives in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy them, for the temple of God is holy and so you as His temple, are holy.

      “Do you not know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives within you, whom you have received as a gift from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a price purchased by Jesus’s blood. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in the Spirit, which belong to God.”

      The problem seems to be that you want your priests and Cardinals to be people who act contrary to the character of Jesus while proclaiming Jesus from the pulpit on Sundays. We all know the word for such a dichotomy.

2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

  1. Father’s civil claim against against Cardinal Pell and Australian archdiocese to go forward | Franciscan Sisters of St Joseph (FSJ) , Asumbi Sisters Kenya
  2. Father’s civil claim against against Cardinal Pell and Australian archdiocese to go forward | Passionists Missionaries Kenya, Vice Province of St. Charles Lwanga, Fathers & Brothers

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