Cardinal George Pell condemns ‘anti-religious’ demands he return to Australian to face child abuse inquiry
Allegations against Pell came from two men, now in their 40s, who said he groped them in summer 1978-79 at a public swimming pool
Vatican finance chief George Pell on Thursday hit out at calls that he return to Australia to assist in a child sex probe into him, railing against “anti-religion” agendas.
Pell, the country’s most senior Catholic cleric, was interviewed in Rome by Australian police last October over historical sex assault claims. He strongly denies the allegations and no charges have yet been laid.
Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper this week said a brief of evidence concerning the matter had now been handed to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
It coincided with the final stages of a long-running national inquiry into institutional responses to child sex abuse, which heard on Monday that 7 per cent of Catholic priests were accused of abusing children between 1950 and 2010. Pell has appeared before the royal commission three times, once in person and twice via video-link.
[The Greens’] anti-religion agenda is notorious and most fair-minded Australians would see this motion as pathetic point-scoring
The Greens party on Wednesday filed a motion in the upper house Senate, which was widely supported, calling for him to return to assist police and prosecutors.
“The Greens have opted for an obvious political stunt while knowing full well Cardinal Pell has consistently cooperated with the royal commission and the Victorian police,” his spokesman said in a statement.