It is also that expected Cardinal Pell will return to Australia to fight the charges, but he has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and rejected media speculations about the nature of the police investigation.
Allegations raised over the past 18 months include that Cardinal Pell assaulted boys at a Ballarat pool in the 1970s and additional allegations of assault at St Patrick’s cathedral in Melbourne, when he was archbishop.
Currently, Cardinal Pell is serving as prefect of the secretariat of the economy to the Vatican, a role he has hold since 2014. He was created a cardinal in 2003.
More updates as the story unfolds.