Economy
Pell: Abuse survivors to travel to Rome for Cardinal’s testimony after crowdfunding campaign
Ballarat survivors of sexual abuse plan to travel to Rome to hear Cardinal George Pell give evidence to the royal commission into child sex abuse, as a result of a crowdfunding campaign.
Cardinal Pell will appear via video link from Rome after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse accepted a doctor’s report that said he was too sick to fly to testify in Australia.
Comedian Meshel Laurie and television presenter Gorgi Coghlan started a GoFundMe page to send 15 people, including representatives from the City of Ballarat, survivors and support people, to Rome for the hearing.
The campaign exceeded its target of $55,000 after the fundraising page was shared more than 3,100 times on Facebook and Twitter.
On Wednesday morning it surpassed $110,000, including an anonymous donation of $10,000.
The campaign aimed to raise the funds before the hearing on February 29 and says “the opportunity to face Cardinal Pell is the least our community can do for these brave people who have bared their souls to ensure the world is a safer place for all children”.
Abuse survivors like Stephen Woods want Cardinal Pell to give evidence in an “open” place like the Australian embassy where they can watch.
“It has to be somewhere where he’s not in control, his lawyers are not in control and that way he will actually be pushed to give better answers than the usual ‘I can’t remember’,” he said.
“We want to see a candidness that we haven’t seen before with Cardinal Pell.
“We want to see honesty. We want to see a veracity, transparency.
• Watch Tim Minchin’s video HERE
• Independent Australia: EXCLUSIVE: Church victims seek leave to appear with Cardinal Pell in Rome Lawyers for Catholic Church sex abuse victims are applying to the Royal Commission for leave for their clients to appear with Cardinal Pell in Rome. Contributing editor-at-large Tess Lawrence reports.
• SMH: Cardinal Pell denies allegations … the statement in full