Australia's leading Catholic cleric today denied he had tried to cover up accusations of child sex abuse when he was an auxiliary archbishop in the early 1990s.
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Dr George Pell, said allegations due to be aired this Sunday on a TV programme were untrue.
It is understood a family friend of the archbishop, Mr David Ridsdale, is to allege on the programme that he was offered a house or a car in exchange for keeping quiet about being sexually abused by his uncle.
Mr Ridsdale's uncle is a former priest in Melbourne where Dr Pell was an auxiliary archbishop.
"In the course of my interview with 60 Minutesit was alleged that I said to David words to the effect of 'what will it take to keep you quiet'," Dr Pell said.
"I emphatically and totally deny having said these words or words to that effect". He said he was considering legal action against the programme.
Last week the Sydney Sun Heraldclaimed paedophile clerics in the Catholic Church in Australia were not being expelled despite an edict from the Vatican to do so.
AFP