Vatican's Cardinal Pell to face sex abuse trial in Australia

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Australian Cardinal George Pell – the Vatican’s finance chief and the highest-ranking Catholic Church figure yet to face formal charges of sexual abuse – must stand trial, a court in Melbourne ruled on Tuesday.

The decision was handed down after a month-long pre-trial hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence for the case to proceed.

Melbourne magistrate Belinda Wallington said she was "satisfied" there was enough evidence for a conviction on several charges, but struck out a number of other alleged offenses, including some of the most serious ones.

Pell, who arrived at court amid a heavy police presence, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to the charges against him.

November 20, 2016: Pope Francis (C) greets Cardinal George Pell (L) of Australia after the celebration of a mass marking the end of the Jubilee of Mercy at the Vatican. /VCG Photo

The exact details and nature of the allegations have not been made public, other than they involve "multiple complainants." They relate to incidents that allegedly occurred long ago in Australia, according to prosecutors.

The 76-year-old is the most senior Catholic cleric to face criminal charges linked to the Church's long-running sexual abuse scandal. He denies all the claims.

A top adviser to Pope Francis, the former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop was called back from Rome to his home country last year to face the charges and is on a leave of absence from his role as economy minister at the Vatican.

The pre-trial hearing, during which Pell was regularly in court, heard witness statements and cross-examinations by Pell's lawyers.

A supporter of Cardinal George Pell holds a placard as Pell arrives under police protection for a hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne, March 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

His barrister, Robert Richter, suggested that the cleric was being targeted to punish the Catholic Church and raised questions about the witnesses’ reliability and psychological condition.

Charges associated with two of the complainants have since been dropped, as one of them died in January and the other is medically unable to testify.

Australia's Catholic leaders have spoken out in support of Pell, describing him as a "thoroughly decent man." Pope Francis has said he would not comment on the case until it is over.

Pell’s case has coincided with an Australian national inquiry into child sexual abuse, ordered in 2012 after a decade of pressure to investigate widespread allegations of institutional pedophilia.

The commission spoke to thousands of victims and heard claims of abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools.

(Top picture: Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell (L) arrives in court with a heavy police presence in Melbourne, May 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters