Pope Francis' longtime adviser charged with sex abuse

Pope Francis’ chief financial adviser has become the highest-ranking official to be caught up in the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal, with Australian police Thursday filing charges against Cardinal George Pell over “historic sexual offenses.”

The charges, filed in the state of Victoria, will come as a major blow to the pope, who vowed to deal with ongoing sex abuse allegations by establishing a commission to propose initiatives that could protect children from pedophiles within the church.

The scandal marks the biggest crisis of the pope’s reign, given that he has long supported the cardinal – the Vatican’s third-most-senior cleric – despite their vastly different ideological viewpoints. In a statement, the Vatican said that it had “learned with regret” about the charges against Pell, though the pope has yet to speak publicly about the matter.

Though the police have not yet released details of the charges against Pell, police deputy commissioner Shane Patton said Thursday: “Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges and there are multiple complainants.” Last year, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. broadcast allegations by two men who alleged Pell touched them inappropriately in the 1970s.

Pell has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and he released a statement from Rome Thursday in which he reiterated those denials. “I am innocent of these charges; they are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me,” he said, adding that he is “looking forward finally to having my day in court.”

Pell has been granted leave by Pope Francis to deal with the the allegations and is scheduled to appear in court in his native Australia on July 18.

Pell, who is Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric, has been dogged by allegations – first of covering up abuse taking place in Australia, and then of being involved in the abuse himself.

A conservative Catholic, Pell has taken a hard-line stance on same-sex marriage and contraception, as well as vocally advocating clerical celibacy. Now Pell has been accused of actively covering up abuse by priests. In one case, Pell was accused of failing to deal with notorious pedophile priest Gerald Risdale, instead moving him from parish to parish, where he continued his abuse.

In February, an investigation into decades of of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Australia revealed that 7 percent of all priests working in the country between 1950 and 2010 were accused of abusing children.