{"id":22788,"date":"2022-07-14T09:06:56","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T13:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=22788"},"modified":"2022-07-14T09:06:56","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T13:06:56","slug":"cardinal-george-pell-sued-by-father-of-australian-choirboy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/07\/14\/cardinal-george-pell-sued-by-father-of-australian-choirboy\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal George Pell sued by father of Australian choirboy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">The father of a choirboy who prosecutors alleged was sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell has launched a lawsuit against the cleric and the Catholic Church.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The man is seeking damages for mental injury that he suffered after learning of the allegations, his lawyers said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">In 2018 Cardinal Pell was convicted of abusing two choirboys in the 1990s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But Australia&#8217;s top court later quashed the convictions. Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The Australian cleric had spent more than a year in prison when he was released in 2020 following a successful appeal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-australia-55382206\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cardinal Pell: &#8216;My views drove public against me&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-australia-52205321\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pell says he holds &#8216;no ill will&#8217; over abuse claim<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">One of the choirboys&#8217; fathers has now lodged a civil claim against Cardinal Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in the Supreme Court of Victoria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Neither the man nor his son &#8211; who died in 2014 &#8211; can be named for legal reasons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">His father is suing Cardinal Pell for an amount not yet known to compensate for the &#8220;nervous shock&#8221; he suffered as a result of losing his son and learning about the allegations a year later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Nervous shock is a legal term for a recognised mental disorder, injury or illness caused by the actions or omissions of another party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">In statement of claim, he argues the Church is also liable as it breached its duty of care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The court on Thursday set down a hearing for the suit next month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dm4ypg-ComponentWrapper-HeadlineComponentWrapper e1xue1i89\" data-component=\"subheadline-block\">\n<h2 id=\"Who-is-Cardinal-Pell\" class=\"ssrcss-y2fd7s-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span role=\"text\">Who is Cardinal Pell?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He rose to prominence in the Church as a strong supporter of traditional Catholic values, often taking conservative views and advocating for priestly celibacy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Cardinal Pell was summoned to Rome in 2014 to clean up the Vatican&#8217;s finances, and was often described as the Church&#8217;s third-ranked official.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He left the Vatican in 2017 to fight the charges against him in his home state, Victoria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">In December 2018, a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing the two 13-year-old choirboys in the mid-1990s. He was the highest-ranking Catholic figure to receive such a conviction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But in his appeal to the High Court of Australia, the cleric argued that the jury&#8217;s verdict had relied too heavily on evidence from the surviving former choirboy. His lawyers did not try to discredit that testimony, but argued that other evidence had not been properly considered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The court&#8217;s seven judges\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-australia-52183157\">ruled unanimously in his favour<\/a>, saying that other testimonies had introduced &#8220;a reasonable possibility that the offending had not taken place&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-australia-62158819\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">The father of a choirboy who prosecutors alleged was sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell has launched a lawsuit against the cleric and the Catholic Church. The man is seeking damages for mental injury that <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/07\/14\/cardinal-george-pell-sued-by-father-of-australian-choirboy\/\" title=\"Cardinal George Pell sued by father of Australian choirboy\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[819,3747,8652,4987,6095,2421],"class_list":{"0":"post-22788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-world","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cardinal-george-pell","11":"tag-catholic-archdiocese-of-melbourne","12":"tag-catholic-church","13":"tag-supreme-court-of-victoria","14":"tag-victoria","15":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22790,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22788\/revisions\/22790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}