- Title: File footage of Vatican Treasurer Cardinal George Pell
- Date: 13th July 2017
- Summary: VATICAN CITY (FILE - OCTOBER 21, 2003) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) PELL WALKING INTO HALL AHEAD OF NEWS CONFERENCE PELL SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE, SAYING (English): "Well, you see, a lot of people find it quite attractive to be conservative..." PELL STOPPING ON STREET FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE PHOTOS PELL PUTTING ON HIS NEW CARDINALS SQUARE RED BERETTA CAP FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE PHOTOS On October 21, 2003, Pell - then 62 - was made a cardinal during a ceremony in the Vatican City, elevating him to the elite group in the Catholic Church that would elect Pope John Paul II's successor. With the death of Pope John II in 2005, Australian media identified Pell - long considered a conservative representative within the church's hierarchy - as a contender to succeed him. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (FILE - JULY, 2008) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) PELL SAYING (English): "And I think the fact that the bishops in Australia and the religious leaders have already apologised quite a number of times, these symbols do contribute to healing. Pope as the head of the Church throughout the world, we hope he will contribute in some way to that process of healing." In 2008, as Archbishop of Sydney, Pell addressed calls for Pope Benedict to apologise to sexual abuse victims at the hands of the church's clergy ahead of his visit to Sydney. Pell said he hoped the Pope would apologise during his visit. He also added that religious leaders in Australia had already apologised a number of times, and had therefore contributed to a process of healing.
- Embargoed: 27th July 2017 11:09
- Keywords: George Pell cardinal Vatican Victoria State Police sexual abuse file
- Location: SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA / VATICAN CITY / ROME, ITALY / IN AIR, ONBOARD PAPAL PLANE
- City: SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA / VATICAN CITY / ROME, ITALY / IN AIR, ONBOARD PAPAL PLANE
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA0066R3IJ47
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Top Vatican official, Cardinal George Pell, is set to appear before an Australian court on Wednesday (July 26), charged with multiple historical sex crimes.
Appointed Vatican economy minister by Pope Francis, Pell is the highest-ranking Church official to face such accusations. He asserted his innocence and said the pontiff had given him leave of absence to return to Australia to defend himself.
Pell, a former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, had come under pressure from an Australian government commission on institutional child abuse, and had himself been under investigation for at least a year.
On June 29, police in the Australian state of Victoria, where Pell was a country priest in the 1970s, said he faced "multiple charges in respect of historical sexual offences" from multiple complainants. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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