Cardinal to fight sex charges
AUSTRALIA: Australian Catholic Cardinal George Pell is taking leave from his post at the Vatican in his bid to clear his name over multiple historical sex abuse allegations.
Pell was impassioned and defiant during a press conference yesterday, saying he was ‘‘looking forward to his day in court’’.
He confirmed he would return to Australia to fight the charges, pending medical advice.
Victoria Police yesterday charged the 76-year-old with offences against multiple complainants.
Pell, the Vatican’s finance chief and a former Archbishop of Sydney, has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual assault dating back to his time as a Ballarat priest and as Archbishop of Melbourne..
He last year suffered an illness that prevented him for travelling from Rome to Australia to give evidence to an inquiry.
Lawyers for Pell appeared in a Melbourne court yesterday in relation to the charges. A magistrate will decide on July 6 whether any details can be made public ahead of a July 26 filing hearing.
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher has said Pell, who has cooperated with multiple police, parliamentary and royal commission investigations, has been the victim of relentless character attacks.
Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart noted the significance of the decision to charge Pell. ’’It is a matter of public record that Cardinal Pell addressed the evil of sexual abuse in the Church on becoming Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.’’
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is yet to hand down its official findings into how Catholic church figures, including Pell, handled past allegations of abuse in Victoria’s Ballarat Diocese and the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Pell criticised what he claimed were several leaks to the media and the ‘‘character assassination’’ to which he had been subjected.
‘‘These matters have been under investigation now for two years. And for more than a month, claims that a decision on whether to lay charges was imminent.
‘‘I’m looking forward to having my day in court. I am innocent of these charges, they are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.’’
Pell said he had regularly kept Pope Francis informed ‘‘during these long months’’ and spoke to him most recently a day ago.
‘‘We talked about my need to take leave to clear my name. So I’m very grateful to the Holy Father for giving me this leave to return to Australia. I’ve spoken to my lawyers about when this will be necessary. And I’ve spoken to my doctors about the best way to achieve this.
‘‘All along, I have been completely consistent and clear in my total rejection of these allegations.’’ – Fairfax, AAP