The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cardinal accused of sexual offenses returns to Australia
Close adviser to Pope Francis denies allegations.
SYDNEY— Cardinal George Pell returned Monday to his native Australia, where he has been charged with sexual offenses, as a commission released a new trove of documents from its investigation into the Roman Catholic Church’s past response to abuse allegations in the country.
Pell, 76, one of the highest-ranking figures in the church’s global hierarchy, was met by the Australian Federal Police at Sydney’s international airport, where his flight from Singapore landed just before 6 a.m.
The cardinal, a close adviser to Pope Francis, has denied the charges against him, which were announced last month by police in the Australian state of Victoria. Details of the charges have not been made public, except that they are “historical,” meaning that the alleged crimes occurred long ago, and that there are multiple accusers.
Pell was charged by summons, meaning he was notified of the charges and ordered to appear in court but was not arrested. He is scheduled to appear in a Melbourne court July 26.
In a statement Monday, a spokesman said the cardinal’s return to Australia “should not be a surprise.”
“When he was told of the charges by the Victoria police, Cardinal Pell said in Rome he totally rejected the allegations, was completely innocent of the charges and would return to Australia to vigorously defend himself and clear his name,” the statement said.
At that news conference in Rome last month, Pell said he was a victim of “relentless character assassination.” He said, “The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”
Hours after Pell’s arrival Monday, an Australian commission released documents from its continuing investigation into Catholic institutions’ handling of sexual abuse allegations in Australia in recent decades. A spokesman for the panel, the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, said the timing of the release was coincidental.
The release included numerous emails and letters related to specific abuse allegations, with some identifying details redacted. The commission has previously said that from 1980 to 2015, more than 4,000 Australians made allegations of child sexual abuse involving Catholic institutions, and that 7 percent of Catholic priests were accused of sexually abusing children from 1950 to 2010.
The commission has faulted Pell’s handling of abuse accusations against clergy members when he led the archdiocese of Melbourne, beginning in 1996, and later of Sydney.