Archbishop of Sydney steps down over child sex claims

The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney was forced to resign yesterday over claims that he molested a 12-year-old boy when he was a trainee priest 40 years ago.

Dr George Pell, who provoked anger last month when he said abortion was worse than sexual abuse by priests, said he was standing down while the allegations were investigated. He denied them "totally and utterly", and said he was the victim of a vindictive smear campaign.

A retired Supreme Court judge, Alec Southwell, was appointed to investigate the claims that Dr Pell abused the boy when he was a seminarian in the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 1961 The Catholic Church in Australia, as in Ireland and America, has been convulsed by accusations that some clergy committed wide-spread sexual abuse.

Millions of dollars in compensation have been paid to victims, and Dr Pell said 90 priests in the past six years had been convicted of molesting children.

John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, threw his support behind the ultra- conservative archbishop. He said: "I believe completely George Pell's denial. I rang him this evening and spoke to him. They are, of course, very serious allegations and he's done the right thing in standing aside, and the Church has done the right thing to have the allegations fully investigated."

He added: "You either believe somebody or you don't."

Dr Pell, an unbending opponent of gay clergy and a harsh critic of Sydney's annual gay Mardi Gras, said his move would preserve the dignity of the Catholic Church and the office of archbishop.

"I will co-operate with this independent inquiry in every way possible, frankly, openly and unreservedly," he said in a statement read to reporters. "To allege that I am personally implicated in this evil is a smear of the most vindictive kind. The alleged events never happened, I repeat emphatically that the allegations are false.

"I welcome the inquiry and a chance to clear my name, recognising that I am not above civil and church law."

Dr Pell said he had taken a lead in exposing sexual abuse within the Church, setting up the first independent commission to examine the issue six years ago. In June, he and his counterpart in Melbourne, Archbishop Denis Hart, took out full-page newspaper advertisements apologising for the Church's failure to deal more swiftly with the issue.

The advertisements followed claims that Dr Pell offered A$50,000 (£17,500) to the parents of two girls abused by a priest for six years in an effort to buy their silence. He initially denied it, then admitted offering the sum, but said it was compensation, not "hush money".

Dr Pell has also denied offering a bribe to a man who approached him for help 10 years ago, saying he had been abused by his uncle, a priest. The man claims the archbishop told him: "I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet."

The Catholic Church's sexual abuse investigation team, the national committee for professional standards, said the man accusing Dr Pell of abuse had been encouraged to go to police, but had not done so. The inquiry was ordered by the committee's chairman, Archbishop Philip Wilson.

Dr Pell said he could not comment further for fear of prejudicing the inquiry. The hierarchy of the Sydney archdiocese will decide who will assume leadership.