Pell charges mean even longer battle for church already dealing with abuse scandal

THE sense of inevitability of charges against George Pell did not lessen the worldwide shockwaves. So what does it all mean for the Catholic Church?

• Defiant Pell addresses media on sex charges
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• Pell accusers are ‘over the moon’

GEORGE Pell knew the charges were coming.

The cardinal and the people closest to him formed the view months ago that police would charge him with historical sex offences.

This was based in part on the police interview in Rome last October when detectives questioned Pell at length about the evidence they had collected.

But at no point has he wavered from his private and public position that he is innocent.

This sense of inevitability that charges would flow did not lessen the worldwide shockwaves caused by today’s developments.

Australian Cardinal George Pell has denied sex offences after being charged by Victoria Police. / AFP PHOTO / Alberto PIZZOLI

History will judge the Pell charges as the church’s biggest scandal in the modern era and quite possibly since the first public Mass was celebrated in Australia.

As well as bringing to a pause — and quite possibly a halt — his Vatican career, the charges will continue to starve the church of its attempts to take the institution forward.

No-one with credibility in the church underestimates the damage caused by clergy abuse, a stain that could still be decades from being rubbed out.

Pope Francis greets Australian Cardinal George Pell in 2015 in Vatican City. Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images

This is the broader challenge facing the Catholic hierarchy.

An 18-month or two year court battle, regardless of whether or not it finds in favour of Pell, will mark more lost time as the church tries to deal with the aftermath of the abuse scandal.

This negative publicity will be compounded by the ongoing reporting of the child sex abuse royal commission, which is still to hand down major reports into the Melbourne and Ballarat case studies.

Pell, being the divisive figure that he is and has been, is receiving support from many of his senior peers but the church is also home to many who believe the institution can only move forward when it sees the cardinal’s back.

Perhaps a fairer perspective is to withhold judgment until the evidence is presented to the court.

It’s often been said but it is worth repeating; the least the victims deserve is the truth, which has been in short supply for too long.