AUSTRALIA
Vatican Radio
[with audio]
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal George Pell made a brief appearance at an Australian court on Wednesday in a preliminary hearing regarding the accusation of “historical sexual offences”.
His lawyer said he would plead “not guilty” to the charges leveled against him by police in the state of Victoria.
Escorted by Australian police, Cardinal George Pell made his way through a mass of journalists and protesters to arrive at a filing hearing before the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court.
Once inside, his lawyer Robert Richter told the court Cardinal Pell would plead “not guilty”.
He said, “For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, might I indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has.”
Cardinal Pell remained silent throughout the six-minute hearing.
At a Vatican press conference in June, Cardinal Pell announced he would be taking a leave of absence from his role as Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy for as long as the trial would require.
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.