Top Vatican official faces Australian court
MELBOURNE, Australia — The most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday in a scandal that has stunned the Holy See and threatened to tarnish the pope’s image as a crusader against abusive clergy.
Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis’ top financial adviser, has maintained his innocence since he was charged last month with sexually abusing multiple people years ago in his Australian home state of Victoria.
The details of the allegations against the 76-yearold cardinal have yet to be released, though police have described the charges as “historical” sexual assault offenses — meaning crimes that occurred years ago.
Pell did not say anything during his court appearance or as he left court.
He has not yet entered a plea.
On Wednesday, his lawyer, Robert Richter, told the court Pell planned to plead not guilty at a future court date.
The cardinal’s court appearance lasted just minutes and was remarkably routine.
Yet the image of one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church standing before a cramped courtroom overflowing with journalists and spectators was anything but routine.
The pedestrian setting of the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court could scarcely have been further in both geography and atmosphere from the hallowed halls of the Vatican, which has been rocked by the charges against Pell.
Though many clerics have faced allegations of sex abuse in recent years, Pell is by far the highestranking church official ever charged.
He entered the courthouse flanked by security guards and received a smattering of applause from several members of a local parish who attended the hearing to support the cardinal.
To them, the cardinal has been preemptively and unfairly condemned before the facts of the case are known.
“We’re coming here open-minded — we’d like to hear the facts,” said Trevor Atkinson, who has met Pell previously. “It’s really a matter of giving him a fair go.”
To others, the appearance in court of one of the church’s most esteemed officials was a long overdue acknowledgement of the suffering felt by so many victims of clergy abuse.