Cardinal George Pell could be interviewed in Rome by Australian police over historic child sexual abuse allegations, it emerged today.
There were mixed reports about whether police would fly to Rome, where the 74-year-old was appointed by Pope Francis as head of the Vatican's secretariat for the economy in 2014, interview him over video link or not interview him at all.
But the Brisbane Times reported that a police interview was likely and some reports said that he could be charged.
The fresh speculation came after the ABC television network last month aired claims by two men about inappropriate behaviour by Pell going back as far as the 1970s.
Cardinal Pell has called for an investigation into Australia's Victoria police and claimed he is the victim of a "scandalous smear campaign".
The two men claim they were allegedly abused by the cardinal when he was a priest in Ballarat, Victoria, in the summer of 1978-1979. The men, now in their 40s, are believed to have given statements to the Victoria police special child exploitation taskforce, Sano, detailing the incidents.
The incidents allegedly took place while Pell was playing with schoolchildren in a swimming pool.
Victoria Police and assistant commissioner Steve Fontana are assessing the claims.
Other allegations against Pell relate to when he was a priest in East Melbourne between 1996 and 2001. Pell is alleged to have exposed himself to boys.
In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed it has received advice from the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in relation to both sets of allegations.
"We have received advice from the DPP and will now take the time to consider it," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
The cardinal has said he bore no ill feelings towards his accusers. "I bear no ill will and have no desire to cause them harm but what they say about me is not true," he said.
Pell added that he had not been approached by Sano for an interview.
But Victoria police's chief commissioner, Graham Ashton, has not ruled out sending officers to Rome to interview Pell, saying that the issue was before the office of public prosecutions. "Anything is possible at this stage," he said last month.
In February, Cardinal Pell gave evidence via video-link from Rome to Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney, admitting that the Catholic Church had made "enormous mistakes" and let abuse victims down.
Pope Francis has said that people should not judge Pell or gossip about him before justice has taken its course. He told journalists when flying back from World Youth Day in Poland at the end of last month: "The first information that arrived was confusing. It was news from 40 years back that not even the police made a case about at first. It was a confusing thing. Then, all the rest of the accusations were sent to justice. Right now, they are in the hands of justice. And one mustn't judge before justice judges, eh? If I were to say a judgement in favour of or against Cardinal Pell, it wouldn't be good because I [would] judge before...we must wait for justice and not make a first judgement ourselves, a media trial...because this doesn't help. The judgement of gossip and then, one can...we don't know what the result will be but be attentive to what justice decides. Once justice speaks, I will speak."
