Church rocked by sex assault charges against top cardinal
vatican city — Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell said on Thursday that he would return to Australia to try to clear his name after becoming the most senior Catholic cleric to be charged with criminal offences linked to the Church’s long-running sexual abuse scandal.
Pell was ordered to appear on July 18 at court in Melbourne for a preliminary hearing on multiple sexual assault charges related to offences allegedly committed decades ago.
Pope Francis granted him a leave of absence, making it clear the cardinal would not be forced to resign his post as head of the Vatican’s powerful economic ministry.
Claiming he had been the victim of a campaign of “relentless character assassination”, Pell vowed to beat the charges and return to work in Rome.
“I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I am innocent of these charges,” the 76-year-old said. “They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”
In a supportive statement, the Vatican noted Francis’s respect for the Australian’s “honesty” and “energetic dedication” to his work on Church financial reform.
“The Holy See expresses its respect for the Australian justice system that will have to decide the merits of the questions raised,” the statement said. “At the same time, it is important to recall that Cardinal Pell has openly and repeatedly condemned as immoral and intolerable the acts of abuse committed against minors; has cooperated in the past with Australian authorities … has supported the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; and finally, as a diocesan bishop in Australia, has introduced systems and procedures both for the protection of minors and to
i am looking forward finally to having my day in court. i am innocent of these charges
Cardinal George Pell, Vatican finance chief
provide assistance to victims of abuse.” The tone of the statement echoed Francis’s comment last year that Pell, one of his closest advisers, should not be subject to “a media verdict, a verdict based on gossip”.
But despite the supportive noises, Vatican watchers said it was unlikely Pell would ever return to his post given the long time time it will likely take for his case to come to trial and be completed. The cardinal is already a year past the age at which Holy See employees are supposed to retire and suffers from a heart condition. —