Clare Linane on Miranda Devine

I mention these relationships to establish that whilst I am not an expert on all things Royal Commission, I do have a genuine, personal insight into these men, their motivations and attitude towards George Pell. It is for this reason that I am compelled to elaborate on some of the points made in your article. I won't comment on them all, because I don't have expertise on every point. And personally I find refraining from making statements on things which I am not fully informed, is a valuable trait.

First; regarding the "unrestrained vitriol spewed at him that he is a coward who has refused to come home to testify". Miranda, I'd like to remind you that the ‘unrestrained vitriol' you speak of has not come from survivors. They have great faith in the Royal Commission process and when Peter McClellan determined that Pell was indeed too ill to fly, they accepted this decision. To quote just a few of their statements made both publicly and via their Facebook pages in the past week:

As you can see, this is not the language of unrestrained vitriol.

Second: I find your choice of words in describing those attending as "assorted victims" offensive Miranda. Assorted victims? They're a group of admirable, brave and yet fundamentally damaged men, most of whom have PTSD. They have survived this far in spite of being raped, assaulted and damaged for life as children. Please do not speak about them like they're a bag of mixed lollies. And yes, the Royal Commission has had to send support staff. This is because all of the survivors suffer from a plethora of physical and mental conditions as a result of their abuse. The Commission recognise their duty of care to the survivors and as a wife, I am grateful for their concern.

Third; your statement that the 120 people who have travelled to watch Pell tomorrow will be there "largely on the proceeds of an abusive ditty by anti-Catholic crooner Tim Minchin, calling Pell "scum" and "coward"". I have a problem with this statement on many levels. First of all, it's simply inaccurate Miranda. A quick google search will reveal that in fact 4,573 people from Australia and overseas funded the trip to Rome, for 15 people including survivors and support staff. The funds raised have been placed in trust and are being handled with full transparency; please do not resort to irresponsible journalism that suggests this money funds anyone outside of this group.

The generosity of those who contributed meant there will be funds left to establish a support mechanism to help survivors in Ballarat, and Tim Minchin has indeed committed the funds raised from the sale of Come Home to this cause.

So on that note…point 4. Let's talk about this ‘abusive ditty' by Tim Minchin. Yes he does indeed call Pell scum and a coward. As Tim stated on Friday, "to those who were outraged by the judgmental language in Come Home, you must understand: this is the language of anger. I owe George Pell no reverence beyond that which he has earned through his words and deeds. I, and many other Australians, are angry". Miranda, I invite you to come and spend the day in my hometown. Come meet with me, in my home. Meet my husband, meet my brother, and meet my friends. Meet the mums who are heart-broken at losing their sons. Let us tell you about some of our friends and family who took their own lives, because they didn't know how to heal the pain they had lived with since they were 5, 6, 11, 12 years old. So yes, Miranda, we do feel some anger. Tim Minchin has captured our anger and we have nothing but gratitude to him for his assistance.

Fifth: the Melbourne Response. You state that Pell "alone of any church leader in Australia responded to the crisis of child sexual abuse and set up a system in which claims would be investigated, counselling and compensation offered and victims would be directed to police". Wrong again, Miranda. Can I refer you to the Royal Commission's "Report of Case Study no 16", on the Melbourne Response. Pell in fact established the Melbourne Response whilst The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference were developing a National Response, Towards Healing, which was approved just a few weeks after Pell's Melbourne Response. Pell has confirmed to the Commission that he was aware a national response was being developed; and he was aware that introducing the Melbourne response when he did had the effect that Towards Healing was not national, as it was intended. So please don't portray George Pell as a lone Bishop who was working tirelessly to set up a method to help victims. Many Bishops were working on it at the same time (for whatever motive); and in fact the scheme set up by George Pell had limitations that did not exist in Towards Healing; for example, an initial compensation cap of $50,000. Your interpretation is that George was sincerely trying to help victims. Another perspective is that Pell had gone into damage control and was motivated first and foremost by protecting the Church. We are entitled to these different opinions. It is the role of the Royal Commission to explore this further.

Sixth, you correctly state that "Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton claimed 43 suicides related to child sexual abuse in the Victorian Church, but, after an internal investigation, only one could be confirmed". As stated by my husband, it seems that ‘unless you put a post it note on your head and say "I'm committing suicide because I was sexually abused", it is very easy to dismiss individual cases. The reality is, many of the victims themselves don't even make the connection. So let's look at the patterns, Miranda. Of Phil Nagle's 1974 grade four class at St Alepius, 12 out of 34 (35%) are dead, by premature death including suicide. I see you were born in 1960 Miranda. I encourage you to look up your grade 4 class list and see if 35% of them were dead by the age of 50. I'm guessing they weren't. Hopefully the Commission will look into why broader patterns such as these were not considered when the internal police investigation was conducted.
Seventh; your statement that "Pell's accusers must expect that he should have made that terrible link" (between homosexuality and paedophilia). Well I do not consider myself a Pell accuser, and I am not the fountain of all truth; however the facts around the paedophilia – not the homosexuality - do concern me. George Pell was here, in Ballarat, in the 70s, Miranda. He walked through our Catholic School yards. He worked in the Ballarat East Parish from 1973 to 1983. He was the Episcopal Vicar for Education (2973–84). He lived with Gerard Ridsdale for a year in the 1970s. He states he had no knowledge of the rampant paedophilia taking place at the time. I will admit that personally, I do find this difficult to believe. Children (not adults) who were not abused will tell you even they knew something rotten was going on. And yet a grown adult missed it? We are not talking about one or two offenses here Miranda; it was extensive.

I guess there is a fundamental difference in our outlook Miranda. You assume that if George Pell denies something, particularly under oath, that must be the truth. But I don't. Because if he's telling the truth, then David Ridsdale is lying when he says Pell said "I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet". And Tim Green is lying when he says he told Father Pell in 1974 that Edward Dowlan was touching little boys, and was told, "Don't be ridiculous". And BWE is lying when he says he heard Pell say "I think Gerry has been rooting young boys again" in 1983. You believe Pell; I believe the men who testified.

And finally, your concern about George Pell given his frail health. Here I will lift my hands and declare my total lack of objectivity. Miranda, after being abused at 11, the way my husband was treated by the representatives of the Church was heart-breaking, and was an abuse all over again. He went to Towards Healing for help in 2006; they funded approximately 10 counselling sessions then refused to fund anymore. They wanted him to ‘come to the table' to settle this matter. In other words, they wanted him to accept a payout, sign a confidentiality agreement, and go away. 
This left him with no choice but to pursue legal avenues; a cruel, frustrating process that nearly killed him. At the absolute lowest point in his life, where he had lost his ability to work, lost most of his assets, lost half of his family, lost his business, lost his sense of self-esteem, and battled suicidal thoughts daily, the representatives of the Church – the Church of which George Pell is effectively Australian CEO – demonstrated no compassion whatsoever. We were tiny ants taking on an elephant; we would pay $5,000 to have a QC represent us, only to have the Church postpone on a technicality on the day. Not once, but three times they did this to us. I often said to my husband, "I'm sure they think if they keep drawing this out you'll eventually crack and just top yourself". He didn't.

I know that he is just one of hundreds who were treated with total disregard for their well-being by Church representatives; not just 40 years ago, but recently, whilst George Pell was in charge, and therefore ultimately accountable. So Miranda, no; I am not worried about George's ‘frail health' whilst he testifies. I'm sure he will be fine. I'm far more worried about my husband and friends.

To conclude, let me remind you of why these survivors have travelled to Rome at all. It is not about them as individuals, and is not about Pell. It is about a commitment to action by the Church to implement the following:
• A national redress scheme to assist survivors with day to day living costs such as medical bills, given many can no longer earn a living due to their PTSD
• A national education program within schools to ensure that children learn about personal boundaries and learn that no adult, regardless of their role, has the right to invade their personal space, much less inflict sexual abuse.
• A world-class healing centre for survivors experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Ballarat
• A peer support program for men in the Ballarat and other severely affected regions, to provide coping strategies which will in turn reduce our suicide rate
• An immediate strategy to remove all paedophiles from the Catholic Church entirely, in all countries, and assist police with criminal investigations in all countries.