Top adviser to Pope Francis in Australia court on sexual abuse

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Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell arrived for his first appearance in an Australian court on historical sex abuse charges Wednesday, facing a huge media scrum ahead of the largely administrative hearing.

The 76-year-old, a top adviser to Pope Francis, returned from Rome earlier this month to face multiple charges in Melbourne relating to offenses allegedly committed decades ago, when he was a senior cleric in Australia.

Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved "multiple complainants." The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence.

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican Finance Chief. /AFP Photo

"I am innocent of these charges, they are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me," Pell said in Rome last month.

Despite being unofficially considered the number three in the Vatican hierarchy, no special arrangements were in place at the court. He entered the building through the front door and was screened by security.

Pell appeared before the commission three times, once in person and twice via video-link from Rome. In one hearing, he admitted that he "mucked up" in dealing with pedophile priests in Victoria state in the 1970s.

(Source: AFP)