Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell will stand trial on historical sexual assault charges, a court has ruled.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Pell formally pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
An Australian magistrate ruled on Tuesday that there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to a trial on some charges, but not on others.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Pell, 76, is Australia’s most senior Catholic and one of the most powerful officials in the Vatican.<\/p>\n
He was given a large police guard as he entered the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in front of dozens of media representatives and members of the public.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Pell, who is considered the Church’s third-ranked official, took a leave of absence from the Vatican last year to fight the charges in his home country.<\/p>\n
Most of the evidence given remains confidential.<\/p>\n
But following the hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer, Robert Richter QC, argued that the most “vile” allegations against his client had been dismissed.<\/p>\n
Last June, police in the state of Victoria charged the senior cleric with what they described as historical charges involving “multiple complainants”.<\/p>\n
More than 30 witnesses testified during a preliminary court hearing, known as a committal, that ran for four weeks from March. Many sessions were closed to the public, which is standard practice in Victoria in sexual offence cases.<\/p>\n
In open hearings, the court heard that an alleged incident took place at a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s when the cleric was archbishop of Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Another allegation related to a swimming pool in the city of Ballarat in the 1970s, when Cardinal Pell was a local priest, the court heard.<\/p>\n
The cleric has consistently denied all accusations, saying last year: “I am innocent of these charges, they are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”<\/p>\n
Cardinal Pell’s lawyer, Robert Richter QC, told a previous hearing that the allegations were “impossible”, describing the complainants as “unreliable”.<\/p>\n
He argued that Cardinal Pell had been targeted by accusers because of his role as Australia’s most senior Catholic figure, and that his client had fully co-operated with police.<\/p>\n
Magistrate Belinda Wallington said about half of the charges had sufficient evidence to be put to a trial.<\/p>\n
An allegation that Cardinal Pell committed a sexual assault in a Ballarat cinema during a screening of Close Encounters of The Third Kind was among the charges that were dismissed.<\/p>\n
In explaining that decision, Magistrate Wallington cited inconsistencies between the evidence of the accused and other witnesses, as well as timelines of when the film was screening.<\/p>\n
“The evidence as a whole is not a sufficient weight for a jury to convict,” she said.<\/p>\n
Hywel Griffith, BBC News Sydney correspondent<\/strong><\/p>\n For over an hour, Cardinal Pell listened studiously, arms folded, as all of allegations against him were described in detail.<\/p>\n Surrounded by supporters in the front row, he didn’t react when the magistrate announced that half of the charges were to be dismissed.<\/p>\n When he entered his plea, Cardinal Pell remained seated but spoke in a loud, defiant voice with two words: “Not guilty.”<\/p>\n And with that, it was clear that the cardinal will now face a trial before a jury.<\/p>\n His appearances so far have seen dozens of cameras trail his every move in and out of court. When a trial does finally take place, the scrutiny is likely to be even more intense.<\/p>\n Cardinal Pell’s trial will be held before a judge and a 12-person jury in the County Court of Victoria.<\/p>\n The court will hold an administrative hearing on Wednesday, but the trial is not expected to begin for several months.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, said he had “confidence in the judicial system in Australia and said that justice must now take its course”.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What will happen now?<\/h2>\n