Doyle Searson Pell Untruthful
Title: Monsignor denies George Pell kept in dark about alleged paedophile Peter Searson
Author: James Hancock
Publisher: ABC News
Date: 27APR2016
A former director of Catholic Education Melbourne has firmly denied claims by Cardinal George Pell that management deceived him about the actions of accused paedophile priest Peter Searson.
Key points:
- Cardinal Pell said he had been deceived about Pearson
- Monsignor Doyle said that was “quite wrong”
- Catholic education would have welcomed help on Searson
Monsignor Thomas Doyle was one of four former officers of the Catholic education office to give evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse today.
Earlier this year while speaking from Rome, Cardinal Pell accused management of the Melbourne Archdiocese of keeping him in the dark about allegations against Searson.
The inquiry heard the Doveton parish priest was accused of sexually abusing children from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Searson died in 2009 without conviction for child sexual abuse.
Cardinal Pell said he was poorly briefed by the Catholic education office and the former archbishop of Melbourne, Frank Little, in 1989, while Pell was auxiliary bishop of Melbourne.
He suggested management deceived him out of fear he would have asked “inconvenient questions” and acted against Searson.
Monsignor Doyle today denied the claims and said there was no reason why Cardinal Pell would not have been informed.
“I thought he was quite wrong,” he said.
For more information visit: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-27/catholic-education-denies-pell-deceived-about-alleged-paedophile/7363954