An Australian magistrate on Thursday closed a monthlong court hearing of evidence on whether the most senior Vatican cleric ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis will stand trial. Pope Francis' former finance minister was charged last June with sexually abusing multiple people in his Australian home state of Victoria. The first two weeks were closed to the public as his alleged victims testified via a video link to the court. "Do you say that the allegation against Cardinal Pell was treated like any other allegation?" Pell testified to the inquiry in a video link from the Vatican in 2016 about his time as a priest and bishop in Australia.

Source: ABC News March 29, 2018 06:26 UTC