AUSTRALIA
HuffPost
Eoin Blackwell Senior Associate Editor, HuffPost Australia
From rural Australia to the country’s most senior Catholic who, until last month, sat at the Pope’s right hand, Cardinal George Pell has lived most of his professional life under scrutiny and controversy.
But now, far removed from the protective halls of the Vatican city, the stalwart defender of the Catholic Church’s assets is preparing to face potentially legacy-defining allegations: multiple charges of historical sexual offences levelled against him by multiple complainants.
Pell, 76, who last month stepped away from his role as the Vatican’s finance chief, strenuously maintains his innocence.
His expected appearance at Melbourne Magistrate’s court on Wednesday marks just one stage of preliminary hearings into the multiple charges of historical sexual offences.
The details of the charges have not yet been made public.
The former Archbishop of Sydney and Melbourne volunteered to be interviewed by Victorian police in Rome in October last year. It was later announced he would be charged and he said he would come back to fight allegations he has described as a “character assassination” and a smear campaign.
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