QResear.ch

#19427976 at 2023-08-25 14:57:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19320928
Catholic Church loses bid to restrict family's lawsuit against Pell and church

David Estcourt - August 25, 2023

The Catholic Church has lost a bid to restrict the family members of victims of child abuse by clergy from bringing civil cases against the institution.

The Court of Appeal on Friday rejected the church's attempt to overturn a decision made by the Supreme Court in August last year that the father of a former choirboy who prosecutors had alleged was sexually abused by George Pell is entitled to sue the church.

The decision paves the way for affected family members of other victims to sue the church over the impact of their abuse.

The father alleged he had endured harm and suffering as a result of his son's death, which he attributes to the actions of Pell.

Shine Lawyers senior associate Gabrielle Verhagen said the Catholic Church had sought to limit those who could bring actions against it to only those who had experienced the abuse themselves. She encouraged the church to not appeal against the decision in the High Court.

"I think [our client] and their family have been through enough, and we would appeal to them [the church] to not do that [appeal to the High Court]," Verhagen said.

"The justice system is recognising that it is not just the immediate effect of the abuse, but it has a ripple effect and does affect family, and does affect loved ones, and they deserve justice as well.

"This is a momentous decision."

Pell was found guilty in 2018 by a County Court jury of abusing two teenage choirboys in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral after a Sunday Mass in December 1996. Those convictions were quashed by the High Court in 2020 and Pell was released from prison after more than a year in custody. He died in January.

One of the choirboys died in his 30s in 2014 from an accidental heroin overdose, having never made a complaint against Pell. The deceased man's father, referred to in court under the pseudonym RWQ, lodged a civil case in the Supreme Court in June 2020.

The archdiocese had argued that RWQ was not entitled to pursue civil action against it because the Legal Identity of Defendants Act, passed in 2018, made the church liable for financial compensation for damage inflicted only on abuse survivors, as "primary victims", and not their families as "secondary victims".

The three appeals court judges agreed with the Supreme Court judge, Michael McDonald, that the father is entitled to bring action under legislation passed by the Victorian government to allow family members to pursue claims as people affected by the abuse.

"Having considered the words, context and purpose of the act, we therefore consider that the judge's construction was correct," the appeals judges found.

The deceased choirboy's father told The Age in 2019 that his son had become withdrawn as a teenager, had problems at school and began using drugs. As an adult, he did stints in jail.

RWQ now claims he suffered psychological harm, including anxiety, a depressed mood and a bereavement disorder. He claims he has endured injury, loss and damage, which include past and future medical costs.

He also claims Pell "was not a fit and proper person to serve as a priest, nor as archbishop of Melbourne", and that the archdiocese breached its duty of care by failing to protect children.

The passing of the Legal Identity of Defendants Act closed a loophole for the church to avoid financial liability under the so-called Ellis defence, named after John Ellis, a former altar boy abused by a priest.

His case for compensation failed when the church successfully argued in a NSW court that it could not be sued as it did not exist in a legal sense because property assets were held in a trust immune to lawsuits.

While serving as archbishop of Sydney, Pell backed the use of the legal strategy when the church defended civil claims made by abuse victims. It is estimated the strategy saved the church from paying out many millions of dollars to abuse survivors.

A spokesperson for the Melbourne Archdiocese acknowledged the decision and said it would consider the implications in coming days.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/catholic-church-loses-bid-to-restrict-family-s-lawsuit-against-pell-and-church-20230825-p5dzc3.html

#19320928 at 2023-08-08 11:46:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

Catholic church seeks to stop family's lawsuit over George Pell child abuse allegations

Melbourne archdiocese challenges legal ruling that would allow father of a choirboy to sue for damages

Australian Associated Press - 8 Aug 2023

The Catholic church is seeking to challenge a legal ruling in Victoria that would allow the father of a choirboy to sue for damages over allegations of child sexual abuse by Cardinal George Pell.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, filed a claim against the Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne and Pell. He claims to have suffered nervous shock after learning of allegations that Pell sexually abused his now deceased son in the mid-1990s.

Pell, who died in January, had five convictions for abusing the man's son and another boy overturned by the high court in 2020. He always maintained his innocence.

The Catholic church tried to be excused from proceedings by relying on the Ellis defence, arguing the father could not sue because he was not the direct victim of the alleged abuse.

The church was able to use the defence until it was abolished in 2018 by the Victoria's Legal Identity of Defendants Act.

In August 2022, the supreme court justice Michael McDonald ruled that the law allowed claims from alleged secondary victims, including the boy's father.

"The plain meaning of the words 'founded on or arising from child abuse' ... includes a claim for nervous shock brought by a parent of a child alleged to have been sexually abused," he ruled.

But in a challenge to the court of appeal on Tuesday, Georgina Costello KC argued for the right to appeal that finding.

She said relevant legislation did not define what a plaintiff in a child abuse case was, but did define child abuse by reference to "a person" and "the person".

She argued it was a person who, falling under the definition of child abuse, was the class of person who could be a plaintiff and no one else.

Further reference to potential defendants as being "liable for child abuse" reinforced that the law was confined to acts against a person who was themselves subject to child abuse, Costello said.

But Andrew Clements KC, acting for the father, said the Archdiocese's case held no real prospect of success.

He said the legislation's repeated use of the phrase "arising from child abuse" was an unsurmountable obstacle for their challenge.

"Even if we had no other good points, and we would submit that we do, the repeated use of that phrase is sufficient reason not to grant the appeal in this case," he said.

The three appeal justices have reserved their decision.

The father, known as RWQ in court documents, has claimed the Catholic church was vicariously liable for his son's alleged abuse at St Patrick's Cathedral when he was 13.

He says he suffered financial loss because of medical expenses and a loss of earning capacity because of his suffering from several psychological conditions.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/08/george-pell-child-abuse-allegations-melbourne-catholic-church-lawsuit-seeking-to-stop-appeal

#18121695 at 2023-01-11 06:06:16 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18121685

2/2

Pell served as the first prefect for the Economy of the Holy See for five years, from 2014 to 2019. It was the highest position ever held by an Australian in the Catholic Church and is considered the third most important position in the Vatican.

Pell was also known for his strident defence of conservative Catholic principles and for his role in sculpting modern Catholicism in Australia over the past three decades.

Chrissie Foster, a prominent critic of Pell's Melbourne Response whose two daughters were sexually abused by a Catholic priest in the late 1980s and early 1990s, told The Age and The Herald that Pell's management of the sexual abuse crisis that gripped the church had caused additional suffering to victims.

"Pell's treatment of childhood clergy sexual abuse victims has caused much pain and heartbreak," she said. "He has played a managerial role in an organisation which has a long history of child rape."

Pell's former lawyer Richard Leder told The Age and The Herald that despite what people might think of some of his decisions, the cardinal should be admired for his dedication and for his commitment to values he believed in.

"We worked together to try and address abhorrent failures of the church in the past and hopefully people will look back and acknowledge the good work that was done."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Archbishop Fisher to express his condolences, and said that the government is providing assistance to ensure Pell is brought back to Australia for a memorial.

"For many people, particularly of the Catholic faith, this will be a difficult day and I express my condolences to all those who are mourning today."

Shine Lawyers' chief legal officer Lisa Flynn confirmed that litigation brought on behalf of the father of the boy, referred to in court as RWQ, would continue against the church and his estate, but they would not be able to cross-examine Pell about the allegations.

"There is still a great deal of evidence for this claim to rely on, and the court will be asked in due course to make its ruling on that evidence."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton used Pell's death to attack the Victorian Andrews government over what he labelled a "modern-day political persecution" that had led to Pell being imprisoned for more than a year for sexual abuse charges that were ultimately overturned.

"On his passing, the fact he spent a year in prison for a conviction that the High Court of Australia unanimously quashed should provide some cause for reflection for the Victorian Labor government and its institutions that led this modern-day political persecution," Dutton said in a statement.

Following a growing awareness and acknowledgement of the issue of child sexual abuse and offences by clergy and other church personnel in Australia, Pell instructed the archdiocesan lawyers to put together the scheme for responding to claims, which, in October 1996, became the Melbourne Response.

The response protocol promised damages to the victims of paedophile priests, capped at $50,000.

If you or anyone you know needs support call the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline (13 11 14), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) and Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800).

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

https://www.kidshelpline.com.au/

https://www.theage.com.au/national/cardinal-george-pell-dies-at-the-age-of-81-reports-20230111-p5cbqk.html

#17435372 at 2022-08-24 09:54:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17435369

2/2

RWQ alleges the Melbourne archdiocese, as the first defendant, owed him a duty of care to protect him from mental harm, and that it breached its duties.

In legal documents, he claims he suffered psychological harm including anxiety, a depressed mood and a bereavement disorder since his son's death, compounded by past and future medical costs.

He also claims Pell "was not a fit and proper person to serve as a priest nor as archbishop of Melbourne", and that the archdiocese breached its duty of care by failing to protect children.

The passing of the Legal Identity of Defendants Act in Victoria in 2018 closed a loophole for the church to avoid financial liability under the so-called Ellis defence, named after John Ellis, a former altar boy abused by a priest.

His case for compensation failed when the church successfully argued in a NSW court it could not be sued because it did not exist in a legal sense, because property assets were held in a trust immune to lawsuits.

While archbishop of Sydney between 2001 and 2014, Pell backed the use of the Ellis defence when the church defended civil claims made by abuse victims. It is estimated the strategy saved the church from paying out many millions of dollars to abuse survivors.

Pell, 81, rose from being Australia's most senior Catholic figure to become the treasurer of the Vatican, until his criminal case in effect ended his tenure in the senior ranks of the church.

RWQ's case will return to court at a later date. His lawyers declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Melbourne said: "We acknowledge the judgment handed down by his honour … and will be working through what that means in coming days."

If you or anyone you know needs support call the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline (13 11 14), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) and Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800).

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

https://www.kidshelpline.com.au/

https://www.theage.com.au/national/judge-s-ruling-paves-way-for-choirboy-s-father-to-sue-church-and-pell-20220824-p5bc9l.html

#17435369 at 2022-08-24 09:53:01 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16729328
Judge's ruling paves way for choirboy's father to sue church and Pell

Adam Cooper - August 24, 2022

1/2

A Victorian court has ruled the father of a former choirboy who prosecutors had alleged was sexually abused by George Pell can pursue civil action against both the cardinal and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, in a judgment that could pave the way for other families to sue the church.

The father, referred to in court as RWQ, has launched a civil case in the Supreme Court against the archdiocese and Pell over allegations his son and another then-choirboy were abused in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996.

In 2018 Pell was found guilty by a County Court jury of abusing the two teenagers. However, those convictions were quashed by the High Court in 2020 and Pell was released from prison after spending more than a year in custody.

A full bench of the High Court unanimously quashed Pell's convictions after it found there was a "significant possibility" an innocent person was found guilty at trial. Pell, who in 1996 was the archbishop of Melbourne, pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence.

One of the former choirboys died in 2014, aged in his 30s, from a heroin overdose, having never made allegations against Pell. His father, RWQ, claims he suffered nervous shock and psychiatric injury in the years after police told him in 2015 they believed his son had been abused.

Lawyers for the archdiocese argued in court this month that RWQ was not entitled to pursue civil action against it because the Legal Identity of Defendants Act passed in 2018 made the church liable for financial compensation for damage inflicted only on abuse survivors, as "primary victims", and not their families as "secondary victims".

But on Wednesday Justice Michael McDonald ruled the father's claim applied to the archdiocese as well as Pell. He ordered the archdiocese to pay the father's legal costs over the ruling.

Pell's lawyers have said the cardinal will defend the latest claim, but they were not part of the archdiocese's move to avoid legal liability.

McDonald found the law was not confined to a primary victim of clerical abuse and could extend to a victim's family members.

"The plain meaning of the words 'founded on or arising from child abuse' in … the act includes a claim for nervous shock brought by a parent of a child alleged to have been sexually abused," the judge said in his written findings.

The archdiocese's lawyers had argued RWQ's claim did not apply to the church because it arose from the alleged abuse of the man's son.

But McDonald said the repeated use of the words "founded on or arising from child abuse" in the law "points strongly to the conclusion that the application of the act to [non-government organisations] is not confined to claims by primary victims of child abuse".

"To conclude otherwise renders the words 'arising from child abuse' otiose," he wrote.

(continued)

#17068780 at 2022-08-06 07:42:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16729328
Catholic Church says family members not included in victim laws

David Estcourt - August 4, 2022

Lawyers acting for the Catholic Church have argued that legislation passed to close a legal loophole that helped the church avoid liability for sex abuse victims does not apply to the father of a former choirboy whom prosecutors had alleged was sexually abused by George Pell.

But Julian Burnside, QC, acting for the father, told Supreme Court Justice Michael McDonald on Thursday that if the court found the legislation did not apply to family members, it would undermine the purpose of the law.

Pell was found guilty in 2018 by a County Court jury of abusing two teenage choirboys in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral after a Sunday Mass in December 1996. Those convictions were quashed by the High Court in 2020 and Pell was released from prison after more than a year in custody.

One of the choirboys died in his 30s in 2014 from an accidental heroin overdose, having never made a complaint against Pell. The deceased man's father, referred to in court under the pseudonym RWQ, lodged a civil case in the Supreme Court last month.

Chris Caleo, QC, acting for the Archdiocese of Melbourne, said the Legal Identity of Defendants Act passed in 2018 made the church liable for financial compensation for damage inflicted only on victims because it was designed to apply to survivors of abuse and not their families.

"We say that that context, as a whole, means that we are only talking about claims by the victim himself or herself," Caleo said.

But Burnside argued against that assertion, saying the church's submission was "plainly wrong" and not what parliament had intended when the legislation was passed. He said that such an interpretation could extinguish legal entitlements of families if a victim of child abuse died, as in this case.

"The purpose of this statute was to make it possible to sue [non-governmental organisations]," he told Justice McDonald.

"What [the church's] submission amounts to is ... if the victim of child abuse dies, their family has no remedy, they have no one they can sue. That's plainly wrong, in our submission."

The so-called Ellis defence - a legal loophole Pell backed as Australia's most senior Catholic to avoid paying large compensation sums to victims of clerical abuse - may prevail if the court finds the legislation doesn't apply.

Legal sources say the defence could still be applied in some circumstances, including where the claimant is not the victim, but a family member.

The deceased choirboy's father told The Age in 2019 that his son became withdrawn as a teenager, had problems at school and began using drugs. As an adult, he did stints in jail.

RWQ now claims he suffered psychological harm, including anxiety, a depressed mood and a bereavement disorder since his son's death. He claims he has endured injury, loss and damage, which include past and future medical costs.

The Ellis defence was named after John Ellis, a former altar boy abused by a priest. His case for compensation failed when the church successfully argued in a NSW court that it could not be sued as it did not exist in a legal sense because property assets were held in a trust immune to lawsuits.

In a letter read out in court, the Catholic Church made an undertaking to pay on behalf of Pell if damages were awarded against him.

While serving as archbishop of Sydney, Pell backed the use of the legal strategy when the church defended civil claims made by abuse victims. It is estimated the strategy saved the church from paying out many millions of dollars to abuse survivors.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/catholic-church-says-family-members-not-included-in-victim-laws-20220804-p5b768.html

#16737166 at 2022-07-15 13:34:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16729328
George Pell not 'fit and proper' to be archbishop or priest, lawsuit claims

David Estcourt and Adam Cooper - July 15, 2022

Lawyers acting for the father of a former choirboy have claimed the former senior Catholic cleric was not a fit and proper person to be a priest or the archbishop of Melbourne because of his knowledge of other instances of abuse inside the church.

Documents filed in August last year and publicly released on Friday also allege that Pell was "prepared to use opportunities afforded to him to act upon his sexual proclivities towards boys under 16 years of age" and that they would introduce evidence to that effect.

Prosecutors previously alleged that two former choirboys were sexually abused by Pell in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral. Pell was in 2018 found guilty by a County Court jury of abusing them in the cathedral after a Sunday Mass in December 1996. Those convictions were quashed by the High Court in 2020 and Pell was released from prison after more than a year in custody.

The documents list several allegations of abuse that have been made against Pell since the early 1960s and also allege that he was not a "fit and proper person to serve as a priest, nor as Archbishop of Melbourne".

"[Pell] became aware of allegations and instances of sexual abuse and other sexually inappropriate conduct by members of clergy ... [Pell] failed to properly consider and take appropriate action in relation to sexual abuse by members of the clergy," the statement of claim, lodged by lawyers acting for the father, listed with the court under the pseudonym RWQ, says.

"[Pell] took steps to avoid sexual abuse and sexual misconduct by the clergy becoming known ... [Pell] failed to report or prevent sexual abuse by members of the clergy."

The plaintiff's lawyers cite examples that Pell was aware of multiple cases including that of Doveton parish priest Father Peter Searson and Father Nazareno Fasciale, which they suggest he should have acted upon.

In 2020, the full bench of the High Court found there was a "significant possibility" an innocent person was found guilty at trial. Pell pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence.

At the County Court trial, one of the former choirboys gave evidence alleging he and his friend were abused after a Sunday Mass by the church leader, who in 1996 was the archbishop of Melbourne.

One of the former choirboys died in his 30s in 2014 from an accidental heroin overdose, having never made a complaint against Pell. That man's father has lodged a civil case in the Supreme Court to sue the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Pell.

In September last year, Pell's legal team filed a request for more specific information in the legal claim.

On Thursday Pell's lawyer, Nicholas O'Bryan, said the cardinal "absolutely denies the allegations and will be defending the claim". Specific details of Pell's defence were not released by the court on Friday.

Pell, now 81, is a past archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney and rose from being Australia's most senior Catholic figure to become the treasurer of the Vatican, until his criminal case in effect ended his tenure in senior ranks of the church.

In May 2020 the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found Pell knew nearly 40 years ago that notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was being moved out of a small, Victorian country parish to protect the Catholic Church from scandal. Pell, however, has denied that he knew.

The case will return to court on August 4.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/george-pell-not-fit-and-proper-to-be-archbishop-or-priest-lawsuit-claims-20220715-p5b1zh.html

https://qanon.pub/#2594

#16729332 at 2022-07-14 09:40:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16729328
Father of former choirboy launches civil action against Cardinal George Pell and Catholic Church

abc.net.au - 14 July 2022

The father of a former choirboy, who prosecutors alleged had been abused by George Pell, has launched legal action against the cardinal and the Catholic Church.

In December 2018, Cardinal Pell was convicted of abusing two choirboys in the 1990s during his time as archbishop of Melbourne.

Two years later the High Court of Australia quashed the convictions in a unanimous decision, and the cardinal - who has always maintained his innocence - walked free.

One of the former choirboys died in 2014 of a drug overdose.

His father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was told by police about the alleged abuse of his son a year later.

He has now launched legal action against Cardinal Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The father, given the pseudonym RWQ in the statement of claim lodged to the court, is suing both the cardinal and church for "damages for nervous shock" relating to finding out about allegations of sexual abuse.

RWQ and his solicitors from Shine Lawyers claim the cardinal and the Archdiocese were negligent, which resulted in injuries, loss and damage.

The claim alleges Cardinal Pell is liable for his mental injury because it is reasonably foreseeable that he would suffer nervous shock from learning of the alleged abuse.

He and his solicitors claim the Archdiocese breached a duty of care to RWQ, which caused his injury.

He is claiming general damages, special damages and seeking compensation for "past loss of earning capacity and past and future medical and like expenses". The sum he is seeking will be revealed if the matter goes to trial before a judge.

Shine Lawyers Chief Legal Officer, Lisa Flynn, said the criminal case and the High Court decision would not affect the civil proceedings.

"The High Court made some decisions in relation to the criminal prosecution against [George] Pell, our case is a civil case against George Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese. There are different paths to justice," she said.

The ABC has contacted the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne for comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/george-pell-father-former-choirboy-civil-action-cardinal-church/101236968

#13223436 at 2021-03-15 06:46:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #14 - THE ART OF WAR Edition

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#13221159 at 2021-03-15 06:08:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #14 - THE ART OF WAR Edition

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