Cardinal George Pell speaks out for the first time since allegations he sexually abused minors - and says his health is 'holding up' and he would 'of course cooperate' with a police investigation

By Isabel Hunter
Daily Mail
February 21, 2016

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Cardinal Pell was in good spirits today as he repeated his insistence that he would 'of course cooperate' with Victoria Police's investigation into allegations that he sexually abused between five and ten boys

No charges have been filed and he has not been officially named as the target of an investigation by Victoria Police

Cardinal George Pell was in good spirits today as he repeated his insistence that he would 'of course cooperate' with Victoria Police's investigation into allegations that he sexually abused between five and ten boys.

The Cardinal and top aide to Pope Francis has rejected the allegations as 'utterly false' and said that he has still not been contacted by police on the matter.

He is the subject of a year-long investigation by Victoria Police for the alleged sexual abuse of up to ten minors from 1978 to 2001. 

Regarding his health, which has prevented him from flying to Australia to give evidence to the Royal Commission on allegations that he covered up the abuse of minors while he was a priest in Ballarat, he said he was 'holding up'.

'I can't travel on my doctor's advice,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 

Cardinal Pell has continued to deny allegations that he sexually abused minors decades earlier in Ballarat, and has called for a public inquiry into how the Herald Sun got the story, which was reported after a leak.

The Church has been quick to come to his defence, with Melbourne's Archbishop Hart describing the timing of the leak as being 'designed to do maximum damage', ahead of the Cardinal's scheduled date for giving evidence to the Royal Commission by video link on February 29.

'The allegations do not reflect the man I have known for more than 50 years,' Archbishop Hart said.

When asked to speculate who was behind the leak to the Herald Sun, and if he was the subject of a smear campaign, Cardinal Pell said: 'Who knows?'

It has been alleged that the 74-year-old Cardinal sexually abused minors 'by both grooming and opportunity', but no evidence has been presented, no charges have been filed and he has not been officially named as the target of an investigation by Victoria Police.

Supporters have branded the allegations a 'witch hunt', while others have called him a 'coward' for not returning to Australia to face the victims of child abuse he is accused of concealing.

As police consider travelling to Rome to question Cardinal George Pell over the child sex abuse allegations, Australia's top Catholic has been seen strolling along the streets in the early spring sunshine.

Cardinal Pell, 74, dropped into his local café with a friend on Saturday afternoon, the day after explosive revelations that he is the subject of a year-long investigation by Victoria Police for the alleged sexual abuse of up to ten minors from 1978 to 2001.

Just a stone’s throw from St Peter’s Basilica, the Pope's special Jubilee Saturday Mass could be heard from Cardinal Pell’s luxurious apartment block. 

The Cardinal was seen briskly striding from his offices to his apartment with a small suitcase in tow just hours after the Herald Sun reported the leak on Friday.

However Cardinal Pell vehemently denies the allegations.

A two-page medical report was handed up to support the application that a flight to Australia from Rome, where Cardinal Pell oversees the Vatican's finances, could pose a serious risk to his health.

The details of his health condition have not been released.