Lawyers acting for the Catholic Church have argued that legislation passed to close a legal loophole that helped the church avoid liability for sex abuse victims does not apply to the father of a former choirboy.
Lawyers for the church told Supreme Court justice Michael McDonald on Thursday that legislation passed to make the church liable for abuse claims did not apply to the father of an alleged victim.
But Julian Burnside, QC, acting for the father, told Supreme Court Justice Michael McDonald on Thursday that if the court found the legislation did not apply to family members, it would undermine the purpose of the law.Just McManus. “We say that that context, as a whole, means that we are only talking about claims by the victim himself or herself,” Caleo said.
The so-called Ellis defence – a legal loophole Pell backed as Australia’s most senior Catholic to avoid paying large compensation sums to victims of clerical abuse – may prevail if the court finds the legislation doesn’t apply.Legal sources say the defence could still be applied in some circumstances, including where the claimant is not the victim, but a family member.in 2019 that his son became withdrawn as a teenager, had problems at school and began using drugs.