AUSTRALIA
9 News
By Mark Saunokonoko
Jul 17, 2017
People who have accused Cardinal George Pell of molesting them could be “lambs to the slaughter” when legal proceedings begin, a Victorian lawyer representing sex abuse survivors fears.
Australia’s most senior cleric will appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court next week on multiple historical sex charges, which one of Pell’s close friends has likened to a Salem witch hunt.
International media will join Australian survivors of sexual abuse and a large national press pack to observe the latest chapter in the Catholic church’s long-running sexual abuse saga.
Pell, who has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, is the highest-ranking official from the Vatican to face his accusers in a court of law.
Media interest has been intense since Victorian Police announced in late June that Pell had been charged, forcing the return to Australia of the 76-year-old who was the Pope’s finance chief.
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