ROME
9 News
[with video]
Bodyguards believed to be protecting George Pell appear to have manhandled an Australian news crew as the cardinal arrived at the Italian hotel where he will testify before a Royal Commission later today.
The footage, shot on the rain-slicked street outside the Hotel Quirinale in Rome, show men purported to be in the cardinal’s service apparently attempting to obstruct Australian media workers.
“Let go of me, you have no role at all,” one of the crew can be heard saying, as another man strides over and appears to grab at the camera.
“Excuse me, we have a right to be here, this is a public street,” the Aussie journalist says, telling his cohort to “go around” the street so they can keep filming.
Cardinal Pell’s appearance today, expected to be the first of three or four gruelling sessions before the Royal Commission, is hotly anticipated.
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