Priest says charge against Cardinal Pell involves ‘physically impossible’ scenario

June 16, 2017

An Australian priest has told police that a sexual-abuse charge against Cardinal George Pell could not possibly be accurate.

Two men have charged that then-Archbishop Pell made an improper approach to them after a Sunday Mass in the Melbourne cathedral. But a priest who was serving on the archdiocesan staff at the time told investigators that it was “physically impossible for Archbishop Pell to have been alone with anyone in the cathedral, before, during, or after the celebration of Sunday Mass or on any other occasion.”

Moreover, records show that the Melbourne cathedral was closed for renovations during most of the six-month period during which the two accusers claim the abuse took place.

The priest who defended Cardinal Pell was not identified, and did not make his statements public. His interview with police in Victoria leaked to the press—just as the charges against Cardinal Pell have leaked.

 

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Further information:

• I Was with Pell and Know He's Innocent (Herald Sun)
• George Pell: priest challenges choir boy abuse allegations (The Australian)