Key abuse charge against Cardinal Pell withdrawn

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
Catholic News Agency

March 2, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

On Friday, an Australian prosecutor withdrew a charge of abuse against Cardinal George Pell, who is currently undergoing a trial in Australia for accusations of past sexual abuse.

The charge was dropped by Prosecutor Mark Gibson March 2 after its key complainant died in January. It is only one of the charges brought against Pell, though the total number of charges and details are not yet public.

The next stage of the case begins March 5, with a four-week long preliminary hearing in Melbourne. The hearing, at which Pell will be present, will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to hold a jury trial for the charges of abuse brought against the cardinal.

The director of prosecutions for the Melbourne Magistrates Court had indicated in a hearing Feb. 14 that the charge of key witness Damian Dignan, who died in January, would likely be withdrawn.

Dignan, who died of leukemia in early January, along with a fellow classmate at St. Alipius school in Ballarat, accused Pell in 2016 of inappropriate sexual behavior when they were minors. The cardinal had previously been accused of acts of child sexual abuse dating as far back as 1961.

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