Cardinal George Pell appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court this morning, Monday 5 March, at a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to take his case to trial in a higher court.
The cardinal, aged 76, has what is expected to be a month-long hearing into historic sexual offence claims ahead of him. The cardinal has denied the allegations.
Australia’s most senior prelate and top economic advisor to Pope Francis has been given a leave of absence from his role at the Holy See as Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy while he fights the case in the city where he was once archbishop before becoming Archbishop of Sydney in 2001.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC), 50 witnesses are expected to give evidence during the hearing, which is scheduled to conclude by Good Friday.
Pell’s defence barrister, Robert Richter OQ, opposed an application by the prosecution for certain statements to be removed from the police brief of evidence against his client. Mr Richter told the court he had supplied police with 21 witness statements that could clear the cardinal, but these were not investigated properly.
"These documents are certainly relevant to the alleged offences. I know they don't suit the prosecution because they're exculpatory [favourable to the defendant], but they're still there and they're in the possession of the police," he said.
No other details of the case can be reported at this stage for legal reasons.
Pic: Australia's most senior Catholic Cardinal George Pell leaves the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, March 5, 2018. (AAP Image/Stefan Postles/PA)
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