AUSTRALIA
Sky News
Cardinal George Pell’s appearance at the child abuse royal commission has been deferred, but he’s been told he must still come to Australia to give evidence in person.
The commission has rejected a bid by Cardinal Pell to give his evidence via videolink from Rome after his lawyers argued it would unsafe for him to travel to Australia due to serious health issues.
Cardinal Pell was to appear before the inquiry in Melbourne from Wednesday to give evidence about clergy abuse in the Melbourne archdiocese and the Ballarat diocese.
Commission chair Justice Peter McClellan said Cardinal Pell will now have to give evidence in Ballarat in February. ‘In the hope that the cardinal’s health will improve, rather than take video evidence this week, we will defer his evidence to the Ballarat sitting in both the Ballarat and Melbourne case studies,’ Justice McClellan said.
‘If the cardinal’s health has not sufficiently improved by then to enable him to travel, we will further consider the position, which may include further delaying his evidence to a date when he can travel safely to Australia.’
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