Two men abused by George Pell in 1970s granted compensation by the federal government

The Guardian

31-01-2025

Two men abused by George Pell in Ballarat in the 1970s, when Pell was a priest in the diocese, have been granted compensation by the federal government's national redress scheme.
An investigation by journalist Louise Milligan, published in the Monthly and by the ABC, states one of the men was compensated for being anally raped by Pell in a school gymnasium. The other told the redress scheme he was groped on the genitals by Pell during a game in a swimming pool.
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The decision-maker for the redress scheme accepted the men's accounts, the reports state.
For a criminal case to be proven, a standard of proof of 'beyond reasonable doubt' must be satisfied. The national redress scheme for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse has a lower standard: that the abuse was 'reasonably likely'.
The diocese of Ballarat disputed the accounts before the redress scheme, according to the ABC report. Pell, who died in 2023, maintained his innocence of any abuse.
The two victims were boys – aged eight and nine – and lived in Ballarat when the abuse detailed in their claims took place. The boys did not know each other and attended different schools in the diocese.
The ABC report documents the older victim told the redress scheme that he was a primary school student at St Francis Xavier primary school when he was raped in the school gymnasium after he had stolen Pell's cardigan.
In his complaint to the scheme, according to the ABC report, the man said: 'I remember him saying 'pull your pants down' … I thought he was going to whip me with his belt. He didn't.
'He put something in my ass – I presume it was his penis. It was very painful. I was bleeding from my bottom afterward,' the man told the redress scheme.
The man first reported the abuse in 2024. He was granted $95,000 in compensation from the scheme, which did not dispute his account, the ABC report states.
The other boy, who told the redress scheme he was eight when he was touched on the genitals by Pell, was awarded $45,000 in compensation.
The Department of Social Services, which has responsibility for the national redress scheme, declined to comment on specific cases before the scheme.
'Specific information about a person (such as an applicant or alleged perpetrator and number of claims) is protected information,' a spokesperson said.
Pell was a parish priest and episcopal vicar for education in Ballarat in the 1970s, having been ordained as a priest in 1966.
He was made a bishop in 1987 and a cardinal in 2003, and served in Rome as first prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, responsible for the Holy See's budget. He was widely described as the third-most powerful Catholic in the world.
He was convicted in 2018 of child sexual abuse, but on appeal to the high court in 2020, the convictions were quashed and he was acquitted.
He spent 406 days in prison.
After Pell's acquittal, the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse released its unredacted report. That report found that Pell knew there were paedophile priests preying on minors in the Ballarat and Melbourne dioceses, but that he did not act to protect children. Instead, the commission found, Pell was more concerned about the reputation of the church.
The commission found that, by 1973, Pell was 'conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy' and had 'considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it'.
The commission said Pell's evidence he did not know about child sexual abuse by clergy was 'implausible'.
The final report issued by the royal commission found that a 'catastrophic institutional failure' by the Catholic church in Ballarat to take action on cases of sexual abuse had led to more children being abused by its clergy.
The national redress scheme for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse was established by the federal government in 2018 following a recommendation by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. The scheme was supported by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.