- Title: File footage of Vatican Treasurer Cardinal George Pell
- Date: 13th July 2017
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (FILE - MARCH 3, 2016) (REUTERS) PELL WALKING OUT OF HOTEL AND STOPPING TO SPEAK TO MEDIA / PELL SAYING (English): "I've just met with about a dozen of the Ballarat survivors, support people and officials. And I've heard each of their stories and of their suffering. It was hard." After giving four days of evidence via video link, Pell had a nearly two-hour-long meeting with about a dozen Australian survivors from the Ballarat diocese who had flown to Rome for the hearings. Pell acknowledged "the evil that was done" and vowed to work with survivors to better protect children in future. He also said he hoped his testimony had helped contribute to the healing of the victims.
- 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: LVA00I6R3IJ47
- 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)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
