Pope Francis is facing the biggest crisis of his papacy after the third highest ranking official in the Vatican, Cardinal George Pell, was accused of sexual abuse charges in his native Australia.

Police in Australia announced on Thursday that charges for multiple sexual offences were served on Pell’s legal representatives in Melbourne and that he had been ordered to appear in court on 18 July. “Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges … and there are multiple complainants,” Victoria police’s deputy commissioner Shane Patton said. The charges were “historical sexual assault offences”. Pell announced at a press conference that he was innocent of the charges and that he was taking a leave of absence in order to return to Australia and “clear his name” following a recent discussion of the matter with the pope.

The Vatican’s chief spokesman, Greg Burke, released a statement that was supportive of Pell, citing the cardinal’s “honesty” and the church’s respect for the Australian legal system. The statement did not include any reference to the alleged victims in the case and neither Pell nor Burke responded to questions about the alleged victims following a joint appearance to read their statements to the press.(theguardian)…[+]