The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse rejected Cardinal Pell's evidence that he was deceived and lied to by Catholic Church officials about Ridsdale in the 1970s and 1980s. The information, previously redacted from the commission's findings, was released on Thursday after being tabled in federal parliament.

Cardinal Pell was one of a number of senior church officials criticised over their handling of sex abuse complaints against numerous priests and Christian Brothers in the Diocese of Ballarat, which includes the south-west.

The catastrophic failures were led by the 1971-1997 Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns, who the inquiry found prioritised protecting the church's reputation over the welfare of children.

Pell lived with Ridsdale for almost a year in 1973, but had always maintained he had no idea he was a pedophile.

However, the commission disagreed.

The commission found Pell was aware that Ridsdale was taking boys on trips and they could be sexually assaulted.

"We are satisfied that in 1973 Father Pell turned his mind to the prudence of Ridsdale taking boys on overnight camps," the commission report reads.

"The most likely reason for this, as Cardinal Pell acknowledged, was the possibility that if priests were one-on-one with a child then they could sexually abuse a child or at least provoke gossip about such a prospect.

"By this time, child sexual abuse was on his radar, in relation to not only Monsignor Day (another pedophile priest) but also Ridsdale."

Last week Ridsdale, 85, pleaded guilty to a fourth bracket of charges. He has been in jail since 1994.

The county court heard last week a Warrnambool victim went with Ridsdale and another boy on holidays to Apollo Bay in late December 1974.

Ridsdale fondled the boy on the first night, plied him with beer the second night, getting him drunk before he raped him. The victim suffered bleeding for a couple of days.

Cardinal Pell gave evidence to the commission that Bishop Mulkearns did not give the true reason for Ridsdale's removal from Mortlake in 1982 and lied by not doing so.

But the commissioners did not accept that Bishop Mulkearns lied to his consultors and were satisfied he did not deceive his consultors.

The commission found Bishop Mulkearns told the advisers it was necessary to move Ridsdale from the diocese and from parish work because of complaints he had sexually abused children.

"Cardinal Pell's evidence that 'pedophilia was not mentioned' and that the 'true' reason was not given is not accepted," the commission said.

"It is implausible ... that Bishop Mulkearns did not inform those at the meeting of at least complaints of sexual abuse of children having been made."

Cardinal Pell, in a statement, said he was surprised with some of the Royal Commission's views.

"Especially surprised by the statements in the report about the earlier transfers of Gerald Ridsdale discussed by the Ballarat Diocesan Consultors in 1977 and '82," he said.

"The Consultors who gave evidence on the meetings in 1977 and 1982 either said they did not learn of Ridsdale's offending against children until much later or they had no recollection of what was discussed. None said they were made aware of Ridsdale's offending at these meetings.

"The then Fr Pell left the Diocese of Ballarat and therefore his position as a consultor at the end of 1984."

Cardinal Pell was a Ballarat priest from 1973 until 1984 and at times acted as an adviser to Bishop Mulkearns.

The Standard proved during the mid 1990s that Mulkearns knew about Ridsdale's offending in 1975, but moved him from parish to parish across western Victoria in an effort to avoid scrutiny and scandal.

Ridsdale served in Warrnambool between 1970 and '72, Ballarat (1972-74), Apollo Bay (1974-75), Edenhope (1976-79) and Mortlake (1981-82).

There were a string of Catholic priests and brothers who committed offences across the south-west, in particular in Warrnambool and district, between the early 1960s and into the 1980s.

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