AUSTRALIA
BBC News
By David Willey
BBC Vatican correspondent
Australian Cardinal George Pell, one of Pope Francis’ most senior advisers, is facing criminal charges for alleged sex offences dating back several decades.
Cardinal Pell has emphatically denied the charges.
At the Vatican, it’s being seen as a punishing body-blow to the reputation and credibility of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church.
Cardinal Pell, 76, is a former Archbishop of Sydney who now resides inside the Vatican. He was summoned to Rome by Pope Francis in 2014 to try to sort out scandal at the Vatican Bank, and to reform a particularly messy situation in Vatican finances.
Three years ago, the cardinal pleaded health reasons for refusing to return home to face questioning at a public hearing by a Royal Commission set up to investigate allegations of child sex abuse inside Australian institutions such as churches, schools and sporting groups.
However, he agreed to answer questions by video link from Rome, vigorously denying any wrongdoing, although arousing some public criticism over a surprising analogy that he offered.
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