Australian Cardinal George Pell says ‘Catholic Church made enormous mistakes’

Cardinal is highest-ranking Vatican official to testify on abuse

Australian Cardinal George Pell said the Catholic Church made “enormous mistakes” and dismissed cases of sexual abuse of children in “scandalous circumstances”, as he became the highest-ranking Vatican official to testify on Church abuse.

Giving evidence in front of abuse victims in a Rome hotel room, Pell told Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse that children were often not believed and abusive priests shuffled from parish to parish.