Cardinal George Pell: His biggest controversies

AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

Megan Palin
news.com.au
@megan_palin

CARDINAL George Pell has come under the microscope repeatedly amid a string of controversies during his time at the helm of the Catholic Church in Australia.

He is Australia’s most senior Catholic and the third most powerful in the Vatican.

But Cardinal Pell has only recently become embroiled in what could turn out to be the defining episode of his life.

Police today confirmed Cardinal Pell has been charged over historical sexual offences. It comes after he last year became the focus of a clergy sex abuse investigation and Victoria detectives flew to the Vatican to interview the cardinal.

At the time he denied the allegations, saying they were false.

He has since been summonsed from Rome to appear at a filing hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18. A statement issued by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said Cardinal Pell “strenuously” denied the charges.

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.