The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal George Pell may be sued by a father for nervous shock related to the alleged sexual abuse of his late son, according to a decision made by an Australian court on Wednesday.
The individual is the father of a former choirboy who was allegedly molested by Pell, according to the prosecution. His kid never complained to Pell and passed away in 2014 from an accidental drug overdose.
In a legal action, the father is suing the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and 81-year-old Pell, who presided as the archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 to 2001, for damages.
In court records, the father claims that Pell molested his son, who later passed away from an overdose of heroin “induced by the psychological effect of the abuse.”
He then claims that he had nervous shock as a result, and he is suing the archdiocese and the cardinal for this.
On April 7, 2020, the High Court of Australia unanimously reversed Pell’s conviction for alleged sexual assault. After serving more than 13 months in jail, the cardinal—who has always maintained his innocence—was freed and sent back to Rome, where he had previously been the Vatican’s economic czar.
On August 24, the Supreme Court of Victoria decided that the father may file a lawsuit for the alleged psychological injury related to the loss of his kid.
The Age said that this ruling may open the door for additional families to sue the Church.
According to the ABC, Justice Michael McDonald ordered the archdiocese to cover the plaintiff’s legal expenses but not Pell’s since he claimed Pell had “no active participation” in the proceeding.
“We recognise the verdict handed down by his honour… and will be working through what that implies in future days,” a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Melbourne told the Age.
The matter will be heard in court once again in the future.