‘We didn’t think this day would ever come’
ACCUSERS of Cardinal George Pell, and victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, have praised the decision to lay criminal charges against him.
A lawyer for two men who have made abuse allegations against Cardinal Pell said they were “over the moon”.
Lawyer Ingrid Irwin said she had warned the men that the verdict was uncertain.
“Naturally anybody with any knowledge of how the criminal process works, particularly of historical sexual abuse cases, knows (this),” she said.
“It’s been very difficult for them to stick their neck out,” Ms Irwin said of the two men. “To come out against someone who is second to God, in some people’s minds, has caused all sorts of problems for them.”
Victims of abuse have praised the decision as “probably the most significant action to be taken on behalf of survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the history of the church”.
Clergy sexual abuse survivor Andrew Collins, 46, said the news was something he never thought he would hear.
“We didn’t think this day would ever come,” he said.
Mr Collins, who was abused by four men at Ballarat schools and churches during his teenage years, said the announcement was a step toward healing.
“Cardinal Pell … is one of the most powerful men on the earth,” Mr Collins said. “The fact that someone like (Pell) can be charged is such an encouraging sign.”