The synod process heavily criticised by the late cardinal George Pell could hold the key to preventing a recurrence of the “shocking” historical sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, according to the most senior woman working at The Vatican.

In Sydney on Friday, Sister ­Nathalie Becquart, an ­adviser to Pope Francis, would not be drawn on Pell or the “culture wars” emerging here and overseas between progressive and conservative ­Catholics.

But she said the emphasis on synodality – a process in which lay Catholics are included in discussions with priests and nuns and ­religious brothers – was a way to get rid of the clerical model of the church that could lead to abuse of power and sexual abuse.

“We know that all sexual abuses are abuses of power,” she said. “It’s a big issue.”

Before his sudden death last month, Pell wrote a scathing article for the Spectator in…