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Backers of George Pell tipping sex abuse charges
By John Ferguson
Weekend Australian
June 24, 2017
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/royal-commission/backers-of-george-pell-tipping-sex-abuse-charges/news-story/65d3cdc228fd6f34563abf6049ee2c9e
Those closest to George Pell are increasingly pessimistic about his chances of avoiding charges over historical child sex abuse allegations.
The Weekend Australian has been told by multiple sources that — despite his vehement denial of wrongdoing — there is a growing resignation that charges will almost certainly be laid, plunging the church into what would be an unprecedented scandal.
Sources familiar with Cardinal Pell’s thinking expect him to return to Australia to fight any charges, with Victoria Police in the final stages of deciding whether to prosecute. If charges are laid, it is expected that Cardinal Pell would resign as the head of the Vatican’s finances.
He has consistently vowed to fight any charges, stating that he has done nothing wrong.
It is likely that if he were to return to Australia, in the event of charges, the church would provide him with accommodation and legal support in order for him to defend himself.
There have been several people who made allegations — none of which has been substantiated — against Cardinal Pell, who has been a high-profile but divisive figure in Australian and international religious and political debate for decades.
He grew up and worked as a priest in the Diocese of Ballarat, the most scandal-plagued region for the church, with hundreds, if not thousands, of victims.
Cardinal Pell is considered the most influential Australian church figure since archbishop Daniel Mannix died in 1963 after 46 years as leader of the church in Melbourne.
Despite setting up the first church compensation scheme for victims of clergy-related sexual abuse, Cardinal Pell has been the focus of criticism from victims, particularly after walking into court in the early 1990s with Gerald Ridsdale, a priest and notorious offender.
That decision, recorded by newspaper photographers, has made him a focus of relentless criticism from Ballarat survivors.
Ridsdale did most of his offending in the Ballarat diocese.
The child sex abuse royal commission has conducted exhaustive inquiries into offending in the Ballarat area but Cardinal Pell has denied having detailed knowledge of the extent of abuse. He is also facing allegations from his period working in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, but has denied any wrongdoing.
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