Pell testifies in Rome

ROME
The West Australian

Cardinal George Pell has started giving testimony from a Rome hotel to the royal commission into child abuse.

A group of survivors of child sex abuse at the hands of priests has arrived at the hotel where Cardinal Pell is giving evidence.

Cardinal Pell arrived earlier, three hours ahead of the scheduled 10pm (0800 AEST) start of the special hearing at the elegant Hotel Quirinale.

He was too ill to return to Australia for questioning and will give his videolink testimony to the commission in Sydney.

Reporters outside the hotel say Cardinal Pell’s security team was heavy handed, pushing camera crews aside as he entered the hotel.

He will be questioned over three to four days about what he knew of historic pedophile activity by priests when he served in Ballarat and Melbourne.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.