WORLD Church won’t pass the plate Vatican instructs Pell to finance his own defence on sexual abuse charges

THE Vatican will not pay George Pell’s legal fees, with the Cardinal required to foot the bill himself for a high-powered legal team as he fights historic sexual abuse charges.

The NT News can confirm Cardinal Pell will not receive financial assistance from the Vatican to cover his transport from Rome to Australia later this month.

As well, he will be required to fund his own legal defence.

With a legal team headed by prominent QC Robert Richter, the bill is likely to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Archdiocese in Sydney, where Cardinal Pell was once archbishop, will provide accommodation and “support’’ when he is in Australia.

The news comes as Cardinal Pell, 76, continues to consult with his doctors about the best way to manage his return to Australia, where he is required to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 26 to face multiple historic sexual offence charges.

Australia’s highest-ranked Catholic strongly denied the allegations and said he looked forward to the opportunity to clear his name in court.

A heart condition prevented him from flying to Australia in February last year to front the royal commission into sex- ual abuse within the church.

However, he has pledged to return to Australia to face the criminal charges and plans are being made for Cardinal Pell to break up the 24-hour plane journey between Rome and Melbourne into shorter segments, with rest periods along the way.

The Cardinal continued to keep a low profile yesterday, with no sign of him at his apartment outside the Vatican walls.

He was on Thursday charged with multiple historic sexual offences, the most senior member of the Vatican ever to face such charges, and has not been seen in public since.

While Pope Francis is yet to comment directly on the matter, he has granted Cardinal Pell a leave of absence from his job as the Vatican treasurer and made it clear through the Holy See press office that the Cardinal has his support.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce flew into Rome late yesterday for trade talks, and was due to meet the Vatican’s chief diplomat, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, for talks overnight.

Mr Joyce, a committed Catholic, is not meeting Cardinal Pell or Pope Francis.

It is expected that Cardinal Parolin will raise Vatican concerns with Mr Joyce about ensuring Cardinal Pell receives a fair trial.