MELBOURNE, Australia (Dispatches) -- Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell made a brief court appearance in his native Australia on Wednesday to face what police described as "historical sexual offences", making him the most senior Roman Catholic official to face such accusations.
Pell, 76, a top adviser to Pope Francis, did not speak as he was escorted to and from Melbourne Magistrates' Court by police through a large crowd of media, protesters and supporters. He was not required to enter a plea.
Australian police said last month Pell had been summoned to appear on charges of "historical sexual offences" from multiple complainants.
"For the avoidance of doubt ... Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has," Pell's lawyer, Robert Richter, told the court.
Magistrate Duncan Reynolds said he was denying media requests to see the charge sheets against Pell, who also did not speak during the five-minute hearing.
Reynolds set a committal hearing date of Oct. 6 and told Pell's lawyers they would receive a summary of the charges by Sept. 8.
A magistrate decides at a committal hearing whether prosecutors have enough evidence for a case to be committed to trial. Pell is not required to enter a formal plea until a magistrate determines whether there is cause for a full trial.
Protesters and supporters carrying religious icons shouted as Pell entered and then left the courthouse in central Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city.
He has been granted a leave of absence by the Pope, who has made clear the cardinal would not be forced to resign his post as head of the Vatican's powerful economic ministry.
But the scandal has rocked the church. He is the most senior Catholic cleric to be charged with criminal offences linked to its long-running sexual abuse scandal.
The allegations against Pell coincide with the final stages of Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, ordered in 2012 after a decade of pressure to investigate widespread allegations of institutional pedophilia.
The commission has spoken to thousands of survivors and heard claims of child abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools.
Pell appeared before the commission three times, once in person and twice via video-link from Rome.