This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/mar/04/pope-francis-did-not-get-request-for-meeting-from-australian-sex-abuse-survivors
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Pope Francis 'did not get' request to meet Australian sex abuse survivors | Pope Francis 'did not get' request to meet Australian sex abuse survivors |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Pope Francis did not receive a request from Australian sexual abuse survivors to meet him while they were in Rome for Cardinal George Pell’s testimony on clerical abuse, the Vatican’s chief spokesman has said. | Pope Francis did not receive a request from Australian sexual abuse survivors to meet him while they were in Rome for Cardinal George Pell’s testimony on clerical abuse, the Vatican’s chief spokesman has said. |
| No formal request for a meeting between the pontiff and the Australian group reached the Vatican’s secretariat of state or the pope’s secretaries, Federico Lombardi told journalists on Friday. | |
| The response is at odds with statements made this week by the abuse survivors, who said on numerous occasions they had asked to meet Francis and were awaiting a response. | The response is at odds with statements made this week by the abuse survivors, who said on numerous occasions they had asked to meet Francis and were awaiting a response. |
| Pell’s close aide Danny Casey reportedly said the request had been passed on to both the secretary of state and the papal household, ABC Australia’s Lisa Millar said. | Pell’s close aide Danny Casey reportedly said the request had been passed on to both the secretary of state and the papal household, ABC Australia’s Lisa Millar said. |
| But Cardinal Pell's says it was definitely passed on. And to Sec of State. So what went on? https://t.co/cu4hChWojp | But Cardinal Pell's says it was definitely passed on. And to Sec of State. So what went on? https://t.co/cu4hChWojp |
| A Vatican official was not immediately available to comment further on how the request went astray. | A Vatican official was not immediately available to comment further on how the request went astray. |
| Earlier this week, Pell said he would be “happy to assist with requests to meet Pope Francis, but has to rely on the officials responsible for considering these requests”. | |
| The group of survivors travelled to Italy to observe Pell, currently the Vatican’s finance chief, appear via videolink before Australia’s royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, to respond to questions about his knowledge of abuse while he was a cleric in the country. | The group of survivors travelled to Italy to observe Pell, currently the Vatican’s finance chief, appear via videolink before Australia’s royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, to respond to questions about his knowledge of abuse while he was a cleric in the country. |
| During the final hearing on Wednesday night, Pell said he had arranged for the pope to be given a daily summary of the proceedings, although the cardinal said he had not discussed his testimony with the pontiff in their Monday meeting. | During the final hearing on Wednesday night, Pell said he had arranged for the pope to be given a daily summary of the proceedings, although the cardinal said he had not discussed his testimony with the pontiff in their Monday meeting. |
| After four consecutive nights of questioning at Rome’s Hotel Quirinale, Pell met Australian survivors from Ballarat, where he worked as a priest, on Thursday. | |
| “It was hard; an honest and occasionally emotional meeting,” he said. “I know many of their families and I know the goodness of so many people in Catholic Ballarat: a goodness which is not extinguished by the evil that was done.” | “It was hard; an honest and occasionally emotional meeting,” he said. “I know many of their families and I know the goodness of so many people in Catholic Ballarat: a goodness which is not extinguished by the evil that was done.” |
| Related: George Pell wasn't much interested in stories of abuse by priests. Which was lucky for his career | David Marr | Related: George Pell wasn't much interested in stories of abuse by priests. Which was lucky for his career | David Marr |
| Pell’s appearance before the royal commission came as the film Spotlight picked up the best picture Oscar for its depiction of clerical abuse in the US. | Pell’s appearance before the royal commission came as the film Spotlight picked up the best picture Oscar for its depiction of clerical abuse in the US. |
| The reaction to the two high-profile events was criticised by Lombardi as “sensationalistic” and stemming from an uninformed public with a short memory, who believe the church has done little or nothing to respond to abuse. | The reaction to the two high-profile events was criticised by Lombardi as “sensationalistic” and stemming from an uninformed public with a short memory, who believe the church has done little or nothing to respond to abuse. |
| The Vatican prelate said on Friday that US clerics had acted on the abuse detailed in Spotlight, and that in Australia the “tragic” incidences of child abuse had been tackled for years through legal proceedings and canon law. | The Vatican prelate said on Friday that US clerics had acted on the abuse detailed in Spotlight, and that in Australia the “tragic” incidences of child abuse had been tackled for years through legal proceedings and canon law. |
| “The church, wounded and humiliated by the scourge of abuses, intends to react not only for its own improvement, but also to make available its hard experience in this field,” Lombardi said in a statement. | “The church, wounded and humiliated by the scourge of abuses, intends to react not only for its own improvement, but also to make available its hard experience in this field,” Lombardi said in a statement. |
| The Holy See’s response to clerical abuse has included the establishment of a papal commission to protect children, whose member Hans Zollner SJ met some of the Australian survivors twice this week. | The Holy See’s response to clerical abuse has included the establishment of a papal commission to protect children, whose member Hans Zollner SJ met some of the Australian survivors twice this week. |
| In a statement, the Vatican commission said Zollner would discuss the group’s suggestions with other members of the advisory body, so that they could learn from the survivors’ experience. | In a statement, the Vatican commission said Zollner would discuss the group’s suggestions with other members of the advisory body, so that they could learn from the survivors’ experience. |
| “To improve the commission’s work in healing in the present, and better understand how to prevent sexual abuse by those in service to the church from happening again in the future,” the statement said. | “To improve the commission’s work in healing in the present, and better understand how to prevent sexual abuse by those in service to the church from happening again in the future,” the statement said. |