AUSTRALIA
U.S. News
SYDNEY (AP) — The Latest on Vatican Cardinal George Pell being charged with sex offenses in Australia (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
An Australian support group for adult survivors of childhood abuse is applauding the decision by Australian police to charge a key Vatican aide with sexual assault.
Pam Stavropoulos, head of research at the Blue Knot Foundation, said on Thursday that the charges filed against Cardinal George Pell send a “powerful message” to both survivors of child sexual abuse and society as a whole. Stavropoulos says the filing of the charges shows that no one is above the law.
Police in the Australian state of Victoria said Pell has been summoned to appear in court next month to face charges involving “historical sexual assault offenses.” No details have been disclosed.
___
12:30 p.m.
The leading support group for victims of sexual abuse by priests has called on Pope Francis to speak out about sexual assault charges filed in Australia against a key Vatican aide.
Survivors’ network SNAP noted that Francis had promised to work to “end the scourge of abuse by his clergy.”
The statement issued from SNAP’s headquarters in the United States called on anyone with additional information about the case of Cardinal George Pell to come forward. Police in the Australian state of Victoria said Thursday that Pell has been summoned to appear in court to face charges involving “historical sexual assault offenses.” No details have been disclosed.
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.