- Get link
- Other Apps
- Get link
- Other Apps
In this file photo taken on July 13, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI right, is greeted by Cardinal George Pell left, upon his arrival at Richmond Air Base on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. — AP photo |
The most senior Vatican cleric to ever be charged in the
Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal returned to Australia on Monday to
stand trial in his home state on charges alleging he sexually assaulted multiple
people years ago.
Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ top financial adviser,
avoided waiting media when he arrived at Sydney Airport on a flight from
Singapore. He had declined to comment in Singapore over the weekend as he made
his way home from Rome.
The 76-year-old cleric is due to appear in a court in the
Victoria state capital Melbourne on July 26 on what Victoria Police described
as multiple counts of ‘historical sexual assault offenses’ — meaning crimes
that generally occurred years ago. There is no statute of limitations on such
crimes in Australia. Police said there were multiple complainants, but have
released no other details.
Pell is free ahead of his court hearing, during which he can
formally apply for bail.
When police announced the charges last month, Pell vowed to
fight the allegations, saying: ‘The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to
me.’
On Monday, the Sydney archdiocese said the cardinal had made
multiple stops on his journey to Australia to avoid long-haul flights, based on
the advice of his doctors. Last year, Pell said he was too ill to make the long
flight back to his home country to testify before a government inquiry into how
the Catholic Church and other institutions have responded to child sex abuse
allegations.
‘When he was told of the charges by 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 archdiocese said in a statement. ‘Cardinal
Pell will not be making further comment other than to say he is grateful for
the numerous messages of support he continues to receive.’
Pell has taken a leave of absence to fight the charges in
Australia and has said he intends to return to the Vatican to continue his work
as a prefect of the church’s economy ministry.
The pope thanked Pell for his ‘honest’ work and
collaboration, and said he would wait for Australian justice to run its course
before making a judgment himself.
For years, Pell has faced allegations that he mishandled
cases of clergy abuse as archbishop of Melbourne and, later, Sydney. But more
recently, Pell himself became the focus of a clergy sex abuse investigation,
with Victoria detectives flying to the Vatican to interview him last year.
Source: www.newagebd.net
Comments
Post a Comment