AUSTRALIA
Heavy
[with video]
By Tom Cleary
Published Jun 29, 2017
high-ranking Vatican official and close aide to Pope Francis has been charged with “historical sex offenses” in his native Australia.
Victoria Police announced the charges against Cardinal George Pell, 76, on June 30, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
“Cardinal Pell has been charged on summons and he is required to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18 this year for a filing hearing,” Deputy Commissioner Shane Patten said at a press conference Thursday. “The charges were today served on Cardinal Pell’s legal representatives in Melbourne and they have been lodged also at the Melbourne Magistrates Court.”
Pell oversees finances for the Vatican.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Details of the Accusations, Related to Multiple Alleged Incidents From the 1970s, Haven’t Been Released
Victoria Police did not release details about the accusations against Cardinal George Pell during the Thursday press conference, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company.
He has been under formal investigation since last July, relating to offenses alleged to have occurred in the 1970s, when he was working as a diocesan priest in Ballarat, a city in Victoria. Three Victoria Police detectives interviewed Pell in Rome last October.
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