Cardinal Pell under investigation for abuse, Australian broadcast reports
July 27, 2016
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has reported that Cardinal George Pell is under investigation for sexual abuse-- a charge that the cardinal has angrily denied.
The ABC report refers to several claims that Cardinal Pell, the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, abused boys in the 1970s, while he was serving as a parish priest in Ballarat, Australia. Similar claims have dogged the Australian prelate for years, but a royal commission investigating sexual abuse in Australia found no substantial evidence to confirm the charges. A police commissioner in Victoria confirmed last month that charges against Cardinal Pell were being investigated, but said that the case had not yet warranted having a detective question the cardinal.
Cardinal Pell's office issued a statement charging that ABC was engaged in "a scandalous smear campaign," and saying that if the charges against the cardinal had been plausible, the royal commission would have aggressively investigated them. "He denies the allegations absolutely," the statement said.
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Further information:
- George Pell subject of Victoria Police investigation into multiple allegations of sexual abuse (ABC)
- Cardinal Pell vigorously rejects sex abuse allegations (Crux)
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