The legal letter also claimed the publication of the book's allegations were a "deliberate attempt to influence the public opinion in a manner that would make it impossible for our client to receive a fair hearing in court should he be charged".

The alleged abuse is said to have occurred after the introduction of the Melbourne Response, the compensation scheme for victims of clerical sexual abuse that Cardinal Pell established in 1996 after breaking ranks with the rest of Australia's bishops who had been working on a national scheme called Towards Healing.

A separate statement from his Rome office on Saturday night, in response to a request for comment on the allegations, accused the book's publisher, Melbourne University Press, and media organisations including Fairfax Media of "interfering with the course of justice".

"Cardinal Pell has not been notified by the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions or Victoria Police of the status of their investigations, which have been under way since at least February 2016," the statement said.

"Cardinal Pell will not seek to interfere in the course of justice by responding to the allegations made by MUP and media outlets today, other than to restate that any allegations of child abuse made against him are completely false. He repeats his vehement and consistent denials of any and all such accusations, and stands by all the evidence he has given to the Royal Commission."