Vatican to provide documents on abuse
27 May 2013
All the documents the Vatican has on child sex abuse will be made available to the royal commission, Australia's most senior Catholic says.
Cardinal George Pell says he has discussed the royal commission with a senior Vatican official.
"He assured me that every document that the Vatican had will be available to the royal commission," Cardinal Pell told Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into child abuse.
He added the proper channels would have to be followed, "recognising that the Holy See is an independent company".
"We've said we will co-operate fully with the royal commission and we mean to," Cardinal Pell said.
He rejected a suggestion that Pope Benedict XVI resigned because of the sex-abuse scandal.
"Benedict is part of the answer and not part of the problem," Cardinal Pell said.
Pell blames inaction, loose entry standards
27 May 2013
"He [Cardinal George Pell] said his predecessar as Archbishop of Melborune, Sir Frank Little, was involved in a cover-up and he said that a former Ballarat archbishop had destroyed documents."
"Cardinal Pell said he had discovered "in the last few weeks" that former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns had destroyed documents."
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