Pell mell …

Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, has admitted the fear of scandal led to cover-up in the church.

He said former Melbourne archbishop Sir Frank Little was involved in a cover-up and a former Ballarat archbishop destroyed documents.

He denied he personally covered up offending.

“No. Never,’”he told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse on Monday.

“I’m fully apologetic and absolutely sorry,” Cardinal Pell told the inquiry. “That is the basis for everything which I’ll say now.”

Answering a question on the high rate of reports of child sex abuse, he said the Catholic Church dealt with an enormous number of children.

Cardinal Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney and former archbishop of Melbourne, said celibacy might be a factor in the high rate of child sex abuse within the Catholic Church.

“That might have been a factor in some cases,” he said.

Cardinal Pell admitted that the Catholic Church had recognised pedophilia was a problem in Australia as early as 1988.

Inquiry chair Georgie Crozier put it to Cardinal Pell the church was “very well aware” there was a major problem “within its own ranks” in 1988.

“Yes,” Cardinal Pell said.

“I don’t think anybody then had a recognition of the full extent that would emerge.

“But it was in the press, there was certainly a recognition it was a problem.”

He said the church realised it was an “emerging problem”.

“Certainly we recognised that.”

Earlier, protesters on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House said they hoped Cardinal Pell told the truth at the inquiry.

Cardinal Pell is last witness to give evidence at the Victorian parliamentary inquiry.

Chanting “George Pell, tell the truth” and “no excuse for child abuse” and holding placards, a handful of protesters from the Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) said there were more of their members inside the inquiry room.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fear-of-scandal-led-to-coverup-pell-20130527-2n6pk.html#ixzz2UT1z6Vvh