GEORGE PELL

Australian cardinal, the most senior Vatican official to be charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis, to face trial after pleading not guilty

1 Lawyers for Pell, Pope Francis’ finance minister, have been fighting the allegations since he was charged last June with sexual abuse against multiples people in Victoria state from the time he was a priest in Ballarat in the 1970s until the 1990s, when he was archbishop of Melbourne

2 A magistrate has dismissed about half the charges that had been heard in a preliminary hearing but decided the prosecution’s case was strong enough for the remainder to warrant a trial by jury

3 For Pell, the charges are a threat to his freedom, his reputation and his career. For Pope Francis, they are a threat to his credibility as he promised a “zero tolerance” policy against sex abuse in the church.