Pope backs Australian cardinal accused in sex abuse scandal
VATICANCITY: Cardinal George Pell said on Thursday that he would take a leave from the Vatican to return to Australia to fight child sex abuse charges after being given strong backing from Pope Francis, who has not asked him to resign from his Church post.
Pell, the Vatican’s finance chief and the highest-profile Catholic cleric to face such charges, said at a press conference that he had been a victim of “relentless character assassination” and vowed to clear his name and return to work in Rome.
Pell, unofficially considered the number three in the Vatican hierarchy, said he had been in close contact with Francis and thanked the head of the Church for granting him leave.
In a strongly supportive statement, the Vatican said Pell’s staff would continue his work in his absence and noted Francis’s respect for the Australian’s “honesty” and “energetic dedication”.
Police in the Australian state of Victoria announced earlier that Pell had been charged with “historical sexual assault offences”.
Pell was ordered to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18.