SYDNEY, Australia – The archbishop of Sydney announced Tuesday he would temporarily step aside during an investigation into allegations that he sexually abused a child.
Archbishop George Pell is accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy when he was training as a priest in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, the church said in a statement. The year the alleged incident took place was not immediately known.
"The alleged events never happened. I repeat emphatically, that the allegations are false," Pell said in a statement. "To allege that I am ... personally implicated in this evil is a smear of the most vindictive kind."
Pell said he would take leave while an independent investigation is conducted. He said he was confident his name would be cleared.
"For the good of the Church and to preserve the dignity of the office of archbishop, I will take leave from today as archbishop of Sydney until the inquiry is completed," Pell said. "I will, of course, cooperate with this independent inquiry in every way possible – frankly, openly, and unreservedly."
The Catholic Church said it has appointed retired Supreme Court judge Alec Southwell to investigate the allegations against Pell.
A statement from the church's National Committee for Professional Standards, established to deal with sex abuse allegations against the church in Australia, said the case had not been reported to the police.
"The complainant was advised and encouraged to report the matter to the police but at this stage has declined to do so," the statement said.
Pell came under fire earlier this year after he admitted on a current affairs program that he offered a family thousands of dollars in exchange for a promise not to sue over claims that their two daughters were sexually abused by a priest for six years.
He later denied that the money was intended to buy the family's silence, and rejected calls from child-abuse victim advocates for his resignation.
In July, Pell again made headlines when he reportedly told delegates to the World Youth Day forum in Canada that child sex abuse by priests was less of a crime than abortion.