Cardinal George Pell’s furious denial of child abuse allegations

Less than three years ago, two detectives flew to Rome to put the child abuse claims to George Pell. This was his shocked reaction.

Less than three years ago Cardinal George Pell faced a pair of Australian detectives in the conference room of a Rome hotel and scolded them for questioning him about child abuse allegations.

Today, the suppression order that had prohibited Australian media from reporting Pell had been found guilty of sexually assaulting two boys was lifted.

READ MORE: George Pell found guilty of child sex abuse

On October 19, 2016, two detectives from Victoria’s taskforce given the job of investigating historic child sex abuse in the Catholic Church, filmed an interview with the powerful cardinal — not realising it would go on to form a key part of his December 2018 trial.

During Pell’s trial the interview was played for the 12 jurors in the Melbourne courtroom.

As reported by The Guardian, the footage showed Pell, before detectives even had the chance to start questioning him, reading from a prepared statement.

“I have to rely on the law and my conscience, which says that I am innocent, and I have to rely on the integrity of investigators not setting out to make a case but actually searching for the truth,” Pell told the detectives.

The cardinal, who was once the third most powerful man in the Vatican and had been responsible for managing the Catholic Church's finances, was the Archbishop of Melbourne in October 2016.

Pell implored the detectives to interview a list of names he had given them, who he promised would speak to his conduct in 1996 and 1997, when the abuse was alleged to have occurred.

“I would earnestly hope that this is done before any decision is made whether to lay charges, because immeasurable damage will be done to me and the church by the mere laying of charges which on proper examination will be later found to be untrue,” Pell said.

Cardinal George Pell was interviewed about the allegations in 2016. Picture: William West

After finishing his statement, Detective Chris Reed tried to start his questioning.

Detective Reed said Victoria Police was investigating if the cardinal had exposed his penis to a young choir boy after a mass.

“Oh, stop it,” Pell said, cutting the detective off.

“What a load of absolute and disgraceful rubbish. Completely false. Madness.”

After a brief pause, Pell told Detective Reed to “go on … what happened after the mass?”

“It’s alleged you stepped forward and grabbed (a boy) by his head and forced his head on to your penis,” Detective Reed responded.

But again, Pell cut him off.

“Completely false,” he said.

The Victoria Police detective encouraged Pell to stop commenting.

“You don’t have to comment at this stage,” the police officer said. “I can continue on.” “Please do,” Pell replied.

Detective Reed continued, running through the allegations levelled at Pell.

Two 13-year-old boys, on scholarships to the prestigious St Kevin’s College, had been caught by Pell drinking sacramental wine in the priest’s sacristy in late 1996 after a Sunday mass.

Pell scolded them, exposed his penis from beneath the ornate ceremonial robes, and molested them.

He also forced his penis into one of the boy’s mouths.

After being told the allegations, Pell interrupted with a number of questions.

“This is after mass?” he asked. “This is in the sacristy at the cathedral after Sunday mass?”

When Detective Reed confirmed the story, Pell said it was “good” for him.

“That’s good for me, because it makes it even more fantastic and impossible,” he said.

“The most rudimentary interview of staff and those who were choirboys at the cathedral in that year and later would confirm the allegations are fundamentally improbable and most certainly false.”

The interview ran for roughly 45 minutes with Pell issuing one last denial.

“I’m certainly not guilty,” he told the detectives.

Nine months later, Pell was charged with five counts of child abuse by Victorian detectives in June 2017.

A year and a half later, Pell was found guilty by a jury on all five counts including four counts of an indecent act with a child under the age of 16 and one count of sexual penetration with a child under the age of 16.

It’s expected he will be jailed in the next fortnight.