He has been granted a leave of absence by the Pope, who has made clear the cardinal would not be forced to resign his post as head of the Vatican’s powerful economic ministry.īut the scandal has rocked the church. Pell entered the building through the front door and was screened by security. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me,” he said in Rome last month, claiming he had been the victim of a campaign of “relentless character assassination”.Īustralia’s Catholic leaders have spoken out in support, describing Pell as a “thoroughly decent man”.ĭespite being unofficially considered the number three in the Vatican hierarchy, no special arrangements were in place at the court. “I am innocent of these charges, they are false. Pell was not required to attend the hearing, but Australia’s most powerful Catholic opted to appear, having previously vowed to defend himself and clear his name after a two-year investigation led to him being charged on June 29. Similar scenes greeted his departure after the brief hearing as he was ushered around 100 meters (109 yards) down the road to his lawyer’s offices surrounded by security, with a handful of supporters shouting “this is a show trial” and “innocent” as he walked past. Several photographers were knocked over in the melee. The cleric made no comment as he was escorted by a group of police through a crush of cameras, reporters and photographers into the court, which hears hundreds of cases a week for alleged crimes ranging from theft to murder.
Pell remained silent throughout with magistrate Duncan Reynolds ruling the brief of evidence needs to be handed to his legal team by September 8, with the next court date set for October 6. “For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has,” Richter told the court according to national broadcaster ABC. Looking somber and frail, he attended the hearing with his lawyer, top criminal barrister Robert Richter, who told the court his client was not guilty - even though a formal plea is not required at this stage. The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence. The 76-year-old, the number-three figure in the Vatican, returned from Rome earlier this month to face the charges in Melbourne Magistrates Court.ĭetails of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants”.
Your Getty Images representative will discuss a renewal with you.īy clicking the Download button, you accept the responsibility for using unreleased content (including obtaining any clearances required for your use) and agree to abide by any restrictions.MELBOURNE, Australia – Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell, a top advisor to Pope Francis, denied all charges of historical sexual abuse Wednesday, July 26, at his first appearance in an Australian court over the allegations. Your EZA account will remain in place for a year. Please carefully review any restrictions accompanying the Licensed Material on the Getty Images website, and contact your Getty Images representative if you have a question about them.
Without a license, no further use can be made, such as: In order to finalize your project with the material you downloaded from your EZA account, you need to secure a license.
It overrides the standard online composite license for still images and video on the Getty Images website. Your Easy-access (EZA) account allows those in your organization to download content for the following uses: Unless you have a written agreement with Getty Images stating otherwise, Easy-access downloads are for comp purposes and are not licensed for use in a final project. Easy-access downloads let you quickly download hi-res, non-watermarked images.