Cardinal Pell gives testimony to Royal Commission

Cardinal Pell gives testimony to Royal Commission

(Vatican Radio) The Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, testified via videolink for four hours overnight on Sunday from a Rome hotel to the Australian Royal Commission investigating how different institutions in the country handled sexual abuse.

Cardinal Pell has repeatedly given his support for the commission's work, and has vowed to meet individually with victims who had travelled to Rome and has said he hoped the coming days "will eventually lead to healing for everyone."

During his testimony, he acknowledged the Church has not handled the issue of sexual abuse well in the past.

“I'm not here to defend the indefensible. The church has made enormous mistakes and is working to remedy those,” Cardinal Pell said.

“The Church has made enormous mistakes and is working to remedy those, but the Church in many places, certainly in Australia, has mucked things up, has let people down,” he continued.

Cardinal Pell is scheduled to give further evidence over the next three days.

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