Vatican treasurer charged with sex offences

July 18, 2017 - Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Vatican official ever to be charged in the Catholic Church's long-running sexual abuse scandal, is due to appear before Melbourne magistrates’ court to face charges. Pell, the Vatican treasurer, has vehemently denied the accusations.

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The charges laid against Cardinal Pell will cast a cloud over Pope Francis’s efforts to draw a line under child abuse issues that have dogged the church for decades. In a December letter to bishops, the Pope said there was “zero tolerance” for child sexual abuse by clergy.