Pell has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his job as head of the Secretariat for the Economy, one of the most powerful posts in the Vatican, to defend himself from prosecution for historical child sexual offences in Australia. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said: “The Holy See has the utmost respect for Australian judiciary. The other member removed from the so called C-9 – a group of nine cardinals that meets periodically with the pope in Rome – is Francisco Javier Errázuriz of Chile.
