Cardinal George Pell has promised to return to Australia “as soon as possible” to face his historical sexual assault charges, pending approval from his doctor.
A statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said that Pell “again strenuously denied all allegations”, but was “looking forward to his day in court and will defend the charges vigorously.”
Australia does not have an extradition treaty with the Vatican, despite having one with Italy.
Pell notably didn’t return to Australia earlier this year to testify during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, testifying via video link from Rome instead. He claimed medical ill-health, leading to public outcry and a crowdfunding campaign to fly survivors of child sex abuse to Europe to watch his testimony instead.
Earlier today, Victoria Police announced that Pell had been charged with multiple charges involving multiple complainants, but didn’t specify either their nature or number.
Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton stressed that the procedures involved with investigating Pell, which has been going on since at least July last year, were exactly the same as those applied to every other case involving historical sexual-based crimes.
Pell has been ordered to appear at the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on July 18.
Photo: Franco Origlia / Getty.
