AUSTRALIA
Warwick Daily News
Andrew Koubaridis | 30th Jun 2017
THE historic sexual offence allegations made against Cardinal George Pell have plunged Pope Francis into the greatest crisis of his papacy, a Vatican watcher says.
Christopher Lamb, the Rome Correspondent for Catholic newspaper The Tablet, said the news of the charges against Cardinal Pell – the third most powerful figure in the church and the most senior Australian – created “shockwaves” when it came through yesterday.
“It’s fair to say it has had a huge impact on people who work in the Vatican … obviously [it was known] there was a possibility the Cardinal would be charged and the police were about to make a decision, but when it came through it really sent shockwaves through the global headquarters of Catholicism and the church is still coming to terms with this news,” he told ABC’s Lateline last night.
Lamb said The Cardinal had been “entrusted” by the Pope to repair the Vatican’s finances and was now the most senior church figure to be charged with sex offences.
The 76-year-old must return to Melbourne on July 26 to face charges relating to multiple complainants.
He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to clear his name. Addressing the world’s media from the Vatican yesterday, Cardinal Pell said: “I am innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”
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.