“I’m looking forward finally to having my day in court. I repeat I am innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me,” Cardinal George Pell said in a statement he read to the media in a crowded Vatican press hall at 8.30 a.m. on the morning of June 29.
He was referring to the “multiple charges in respect of historic sexual abuse” that have been made against him by the Victoria police, and were made public on June 29. The charges are criminal and he has been summoned to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18.
He pointed out that “these matters” have been under investigation for nearly two years, and said, “There have been leaks to the media, relentless character assassination and for more than a month claims that a decision on laying charges is ‘imminent’.”
The cardinal, who turned 76 earlier this month, revealed that he had kept Pope Francis “regularly informed throughout this lengthy process” and said he had “spoken to him in recent days about the need to take leave to clear my name.” He expressed his gratitude to the pope for granting him “this leave to return home” and also to his doctors for advising him how best to do this.
The ever-combative Australian cardinal added, “I have been consistent and clear in my total rejection of these allegations” and said, “news of these charges strengthens my resolve and (the) court proceedings now offer me an opportunity to clear my name and then return to my work in Rome.”
I repeat I am innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.
The cardinal did not take any questions from the press, but after he had read his statement, the director of the Vatican press office, Greg Burke, read a statement on behalf of the Holy See.
It said “the Holy See has learned with regret the news of charges filed in Australia against Cardinal George Pell for decades-old actions that have been attributed to him.”
The statement added that when the cardinal became aware of the charges, “acting in full respect for civil laws” he “decided to return to his country to face the charges against him, recognizing the importance of his participation to ensure that the process is carried out fairly and to foster the search for truth.”
The Vatican statement confirmed that the cardinal had informed Pope Francis of these developments and the pontiff “has granted the cardinal a leave of absence so he can defend himself” and also expressed the Holy See’s “respect for the Australian justice system that will have to decide the merits of the questions raised.”
At the same time, it said “it is important to recall that Cardinal Pell has openly and repeatedly condemned as immoral and intolerable the acts of abuse committed against minors.” Furthermore, “he has cooperated in the past with Australian authorities (for example, in his depositions before the Royal Commission); has supported the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; and as a diocesan bishop in Australia, has introduced systems and procedures both for the protection of minors and to provide assistance to victims of abuse.”
The news, which broke after 2:30 a.m. (Rome time), did not come altogether as a surprise given earlier signals from the Victoria police, who had interviewed the cardinal in the Vatican last October and after a long and costly investigation and much deliberation took the decision to press charges against him.
But given this long time, many here in Rome wonder why the Victoria police decided to make the announcement on June 29, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, which is a holiday in the Vatican. This year, most of the world’s cardinals are present, as well as much of the international media, because of the consistory on the previous day at which the pope made five new cardinals.
The news came as a major blow to the pope and Vatican, of course, and was received with sadness here. Officials I have spoken to say they consider Cardinal Pell an honest man and believe it is important that he be given a fair chance to clear his name.
We have to wait for the justice system to do its job and not pass judgment in the media, because this is not helpful. ‘Judgment’ by gossip, and then what? We don’t know how it will turn out. See what the justice system decides. Once it has spoken, then I will speak.
One church source who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak, told America, he is concerned because of the time lag it could take to hold a trial and to sift through all the charges. A major time lag would in fact effectively mean an end to the cardinal’s career, regardless of the end result.
Cardinal Pell is the most senior Vatican official ever to be charged with sexual abuse offenses. He is currently not only a member of the pope’s Council of Cardinal Advisors and head of the Secretariat for the Economy but also a member of the congregation of bishops that proposes to the pope the names of candidates to be bishops in Australia and elsewhere.
During his absence from the Rome, the Secretariat for the Economy will continue to carry out its institutional tasks, the Vatican said, and “the secretaries will remain at their posts to carry forward the ordinary affairs of the dicastery, until otherwise provided for.”
It is worth recalling here how Pope Francis, who has a zero tolerance policy in relation to the abuse of minors by priests, looks on the cardinal’s situation. He made this known on the return flight from Poland, July 31, 2016, when he was asked what would be the right thing for Cardinal Pell to do given the accusations against him. He responded by noting that the initial reports were confusing and related to allegations from 40 years ago which the police, at first, were not even aware of. He noted that all these accusations were then presented to the justice system and remain there and said, “We cannot judge until the justice system passes judgment. It would not be good for me to pass judgment for or against Cardinal Pell, for I would then be passing judgment prematurely. Clearly doubt exists and there is a clear principle of law: in dubio pro reo (doubt favors the accused). We have to wait for the justice system to do its job and not pass judgment in the media, because this is not helpful. ‘Judgment’ by gossip, and then what? We don’t know how it will turn out. See what the justice system decides. Once it has spoken, then I will speak.”
The charging of Cardinal Pell is like lancing a boil that has festered for too long. Now this drama moves into its final act. He has personified the church in Australia for well over three decades and his fate will always be entwined with the image of that church and its future.
A source in Australia, who asked for anonymity because of the position he holds, told America after the news broke that “the charging of Cardinal Pell is like lancing a boil that has festered for too long. Now this drama moves into its final act. He has personified the church in Australia for well over three decades and his fate will always be entwined with the image of that church and its future.”
Various sources in Rome and Australia told America that the cardinal has been like a lightning rod for discontent and has been a controversial and somewhat unpopular figure in Australia for a long time. They believe that some of the accusations against him are motivated by dislike and anger with the church and that he is so identified with the church in Australia that the vitriol that existed at the moment is often vented in an almost vicarious response. These sources also agree that given the widespread and justifiable anger over the sexual abuse of children and minors in some 1,000 Catholic church institutions in Australia since the 1950s, it would be fair to say that the public want scalps, and the cardinal’s would be the biggest and most high profile one. For many people, it is the one they are after. This climate, of course, raises the crucial question as to whether he can be given a fair trial.
“Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges in respect of historic sexual offenses,” Victoria state police deputy commissioner Shane Patton told a news conference in Melbourne on June 29. He said “There are multiple complainants relating to those charges.”
Mr. Patton clarified that “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.” He insisted that “there has been no change in any procedures whatsoever” and that the cardinal has been treated the same as anyone else.
At the same time, he emphasized that “none of the allegations that have been made against Cardinal Pell have, obviously, been tested in any court yet” and affirmed that the cardinal “like any other defendant, has a right to due process and so therefore it's important that the process is allowed to run its natural course.”
The Victoria police deputy commissioner did not provide further details of the charges, and said the police would not make any further comment citing the need to preserve the integrity of the judicial process, and Mr. Patton underlined that “preserving the integrity of that process is essential to all of us, so for Victoria police it's important that it’s allowed to go through unhindered, and it’s allowed to see natural justice is afforded to all the parties involved, including Cardinal Pell and the complainants in this matter.”
ABC News Australia reports that a magistrate will decide next week whether to release the details and nature of the charges. A hearing will take place on July 6.
The Church in Australia is in a really bad way, e.g., for the first time government statistics indicate that Catholics do not constitute the largest religious denomination.
Pell has a terrible reputation on sex abuse in Australia ... it is because of him and the Ellis case that it's almost impossible for sex abuse victims in Australia to sue the church. He has treated victims badly and was recently accused of trying to bribe them into staying quiet. Rumors of him having abused kids himself have existed for decades.
Yet the Pope chose him to be one of his top advisors, knowing all this. The question I have now is ... will the Pope cut him loose to go back to Australia to face the music, or will he squirrel him away in non-extradition city as he did with sex abuser Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski?
Roger Mahony. Bernard Law. Pell will remain "a priest in good standing." The truth doesn't matter. Of course, who are we to judge?
What exactly are the charges against Pell? Did he, himself, sexually abuse children, or did he knowingly allow it to happen under his watch?
From what I can see, there are a lot of reasons ($$$) that certain people would want to get Pell out of the Vatican financial offices. He controls the money. Allegations of sexual impropriety would sure get rid of him fast, whether they are true or not.
Will be interesting to see how this plays out, and who is dealing the cards.
Beth, Pell himself has been accused of multiple counts of sexual assault, including rape. I'd include a link but that seems to sideline my comment, but look for The Guardian article titled "Cardinal George Pell: Vatican official charged with multiple sexual offences"
OK, thanks Crystal. I'll check it out.
The charges, from The Newcastle Herald in Australia ... "Cardinal George Pell, Australia's highest ranking Catholic will face at least three serious sex assault charges, including at least one count of rape."
There have been numerous false allegations of child abuse against Bishops (including 3 Archbishops and a Cardinal) in Ireland. This is an extract from my comment on a 2011 article on the Association of [Irish] Catholic Priests website
http://www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie/2011/08/two-reflections-on-dr-magees-interview-brendan-hoban-margaret-lee/
"Regarding the “culture of deference” you are aware that the media have been telling obscene lies about priests and bishops since at least 1994. I have written an essay about false sex allegations directed at SEVEN Irish bishops between 1994 and 2008.
http://irishsalem.com/irish-controversies/allegations-against-bishops-1994to2009/IrishBishops3.php
These comprise Bishop Magee himself (accused twice in 1994 and 1999), the late Archbishops Cahal Daly, John Charles McQuaid, and Thomas Morris, Bishops Brendan Comiskey and Eamon Casey and the late Bishop Peter Birch.
"You are aware that Bishop Magee himself was the target of the initial libel in April 1994 when the UK Guardian was forced to apologise for claiming that an unnamed Irish Bishop was a member of a paedophile ring.
http://www.irishsalem.com/individuals/accused/bishop-john-magee/TheGuardianandBishopMagee.php
"A few months afterwards the government of Albert Reynolds collapsed as a direct result of Pat Rabbitte’s suggestion that there was a conspiracy between Cardinal Daly and Attorney General Harry Whelehan to prevent the extradition of Fr Brendan Smyth. This was followed by an obscene media onslaught against Bishop Comiskey when he went to the USA for treatment for alcoholism. In 1999, TV3 had to apologise for a second (and unrelated ) slander against Bishop Magee while shortly afterwards John Cooney published a biography of Archbishop McQuaid in which he accused him of making sexual advances to underage boys. (This allegation as rejected even by reviewers who praised the remainder of the book!). You are aware that Cooney was made Religious Affairs correspondent of the Irish Independent a few years after the publication of his scurrilous book. (Try to imagine a journalist who similarly slandered a former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, being appointed to the staff of the Irish Catholic.)"
http://www.irishsalem.com/individuals/writers-and-journalists/John-Cooney/index.php
COMMENT on 13 July 2017: I suspect the allegations against Cardinal George Pell, former Archbishop of Sydney and then Melbourne, fall into the same category. Of the members of the Irish hierarchy mentioned above, ALL were either Archbishops (including one Cardinal) OR very well-known Bishops. Obscure prelates seem to be safe from this type of claim!