Bishops stand by Pell over call to resign

Prominent Australian bishops and the Vatican have rallied to the defence of Cardinal George Pell after Peter Saunders, an abuse survivor who advises Pope Francis, accused him of callousness and called for his dismissal.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday the archbishops of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart and Canberra-Goulburn  described him as “a man of integrity who is committed to the truth and to helping others, particularly those who have been hurt or who are struggling”.

The cardinal, who is Prefect of the Holy See’s Secretariat for the Economy, said he was considering legal action against Mr Saunders, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, set up by Pope Francis last year to improve church safeguarding standards.

Mr Saunders said on Australian TV programme 60 Minutes on Sunday that the position of Cardinal Pell, the former Archbishop of Melbourne and later of Sydney, was untenable.

“He has a catalogue of denigrating people, of acting with callousness, cold-heartedness, almost sociopathic I would go as far as to say, this lack of care,” Mr Saunders told the programme.

“Given the position of George Pell as a cardinal of the Church and a position of huge authority within the Vatican, I think he is a massive, massive thorn in the side of Pope Francis’ papacy if he’s allowed to remain.”

A spokesperson for the cardinal issued a statement after the programme, saying the claims made against him were “false and misleading” and “outrageous”.

On Monday the Vatican responded to the charges, saying Mr Saunders was speaking in a personal capacity, not on behalf of the commission, and that “Cardinal George Pell has always responded carefully and thoroughly to the accusations and questions posed by the competent Australian authorities”.

On Tuesday a statement from the safeguarding commission emphasised that the body had “no jurisdiction to comment on individual cases or inquiries”. But it added it was “essential that those in positions of authority in the Church respond promptly, transparently and with the clear intent of enabling justice to be achieved”.

Mr Saunders told The Tablet he had been speaking as an abuse survivor and campaigner. “I know I have rocked the boat by speaking out as I have but I suspect that Pope Francis won’t hold that against me,” he said, adding that he had received messages of support from “all over the world – mostly from Catholics”.

He told the Australian press the commission’s work could be stymied by Pell, who manages the Vatican’s finances.