Cardinal George Pell, Vatican Official, Charged With Sexual Abuse In Australia

UPDATE: 3:11 a.m. EDT— Cardinal George Pell has released a statement on the sexual abuse allegations made against him by the Australian police. He has stated that he is “innocent of these charges” and that sexual abuse was “abhorrent” to him.

According to the statement, Pell had discussed the ongoing situation with Pope Francis and will be requesting leave for a period of time so that he can attend the court proceedings in Australia and clear his name. It is not immediately clear if Pell will be temporarily relieving his post as a cardinal like he had done earlier when he was accused of a similar crime in 2002.

Original story:

Cardinal George Pell, one of the senior-most officials in the Vatican City, was slapped with multiple sexual assault charges by the Australian police Thursday. Following the charges, Pell will be required to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18.

At a news conference, Victoria Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said Pell would receive no special treatment, even though he holds one of the powerful positions in the Catholic Church.

"I want to be perfectly clear -- the process and the procedures that have been followed in the charging of Cardinal Pell have been the same that have been applied in a whole range of historical sex offenses whenever we investigate them," Patton said, CNN reported. "Cardinal Pell has been treated the same as anyone else in this investigation," he added.

The Catholic Church in Australia said Pell "strenuously denies" the charges brought against him and plans to prove his innocence in the court. "Cardinal Pell will return to Australia as soon as possible to clear his name, following advice and approval by his doctors who will also advise on his travel arrangements. He is looking forward to his day in court and will defend the charges vigorously," the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said in a statement, the Telegraph reported.

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At the time when Pell was the Archbishop of Melbourne, he was accused of turning a blind eye to several claims of sexual abuse at the hands of the clergy, something that evoked the highest level of scrutiny by Australia's royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in the last few years. At the time, Pell pleaded his innocence to the accusations against him and agreed to cooperate during the investigation.

“I’d just like to restate my innocence,” he told reporters in Rome, Italy, in May 2017, according to the Telegraph report. “I stand by everything I’ve said at the royal commission and in other places. We have to respect due process, wait until it’s concluded and obviously I’ll continue to cooperate fully,” Pell further said.

In 2002, Pell had to temporarily step down from his post as the Archbishop of Melbourne after he was accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy, 40 years ago. However, two months later, he resumed his post due to the lack of evidence, Britannica reported.

According to the Telegraph, Pell might need to step down from his current post yet again until he is cleared of the fresh onslaught of charges that have been brought against him.

Pell, 76, was born on June 8, 1941, in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. A talented footballer in his youth who signed a contract to play professionally for the Richmond Football Club in 1959, Pell eventually studied priesthood.

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He was ordained in 1966 after attending Corpus Christi College, Werribee, Australi, and Propaganda Fide College, Rome, Italy. Pell also has a Ph.D. degree in church history (1971) from the University of Oxford and a master’s degree in education (1982) from Monash University, Melbourne.

After serving as an administrator and a priest in a number of parishes in Victoria, Pell was named the seventh archbishop of Melbourne in 1996. He was a part of both the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI and the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis. Shortly after Pope Francis was elected, he made Pell one of the eight members of the highly influential Council of Cardinals which advises the pope on financial and government matters. Pell has also been assigned as the in charge of Secretariat for the Economy.