Supporters have tied colourful ribbons to the fence of Warrnambool's St Joseph's Church in a display of solidarity for survivors of child sexual abuse on the day of Cardinal George Pell's funeral.
A Warrnambool woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she tied the ribbons to the fence at the church at 11am on Thursday - the starting time of Pell's funeral in Sydney.
The former Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and Archbishop of Sydney died in Vatican City, aged 81, from heart complications following hip surgery.
His funeral is being held at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found Pell was aware of child abuse by clergy in the 1970s but failed to take appropriate action.
Pell said at the time the findings weren't supported by evidence.
The Warrnambool woman said adorning the ribbons to the fence let victim-survivors know "that we see them, we believe them and we care about them".
"I also tie ribbons to the Loud Fence as a reminder to the Catholic Church of their catastrophic failure to protect their beautiful, vulnerable children in the past and that they must ensure that this never happens again," she told The Standard.
The Loud Fence movement started in Ballarat and has spread worldwide, with people tying ribbons to the fences of religious buildings and other institutions as a show of support for survivors and victims.
Pell was the Vatican's top finance minister before he left Rome in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne for child sexual abuse offences.
In 2018, he was convicted of molesting two teenage choirboys in the sacristy at St Patrick's Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.
But Pell always maintained his innocence and in 2020 his convictions were quashed in a unanimous decision by the High Court.
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Jessica Howard
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
