Cardinal George Pell is calling for an investigation into whether some elements of Victoria Police and the ABC have conspired to pervert the course of justice.

Key points: George Pell accuses "elements" within police of leaking to ABC

George Pell accuses "elements" within police of leaking to ABC Broadcaster fires back, saying story did not come from police sources

Broadcaster fires back, saying story did not come from police sources Prosecutors will decide if the allegations warrant charges

On Wednesday night, the ABC's 7.30 program aired details of sexual abuse allegations against Cardinal Pell, who is Australia's most senior Catholic cleric.

Victoria Police has confirmed it has been investigating a number of complaints for more than a year, but has not sought to interview the Cardinal, who currently serves as the Vatican's treasurer, reporting directly to the Pope.

Cardinal Pell has vehemently denied the allegations, accusing the ABC of mounting a smear campaign against him and saying the broadcaster has "no licence to destroy the reputation of innocent people".

In a statement released after the 7:30 program went to air on Wednesday night, he said he bore no ill will and had no desire to cause any harm to those making the allegations against him, but said they were wrong.

Declaring that he would not participate in a trial by media and that he had "done nothing wrong", he said he was entitled to a "fair go". He said police had not asked to interview him, and it appeared "elements" of the Victoria Police had leaked information to the ABC.

"The Cardinal calls for an investigation to assess whether any actions of elements of the Victoria Police and the ABC program amount to a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice," the statement said.

Australian Catholic University Vice Chancellor Greg Craven accused Victoria Police and the ABC of abusing their powers.

"It's a big story about the chronic abuse of state power from the Victoria Police and the willing abetting of the abuse of that power, very sadly, by our national broadcaster the ABC," he said.

Cardinal Pell has abandoned plans to travel to the Polish city of Krakow for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day celebrations.

ABC denies story came from police leak

ABC News released a statement this morning saying: "Victoria Police was not the source of the ABC 7.30 story".

"Nor did witnesses approach the ABC. The report was the result of our own on-the-ground journalism over the course of months, which included finding people who would be willing to talk to us on camera," the statement read.

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"There is a clear public interest case for reporting on this matter.

"Cardinal George Pell is a significant public figure, a senior figure in the Catholic Church, and he also has had direct responsibility for the church's response on the issue of child sex abuse."

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton also rejected claims the police service provided information to the ABC, saying it was clear from the 7.30 report that "the source of that information was from the [alleged] victims".

He said Cardinal Pell had previously complained about alleged leaks within the police force and Mr Ashton said he had forwarded the matter on to the Independent Broad Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) for investigation.

"IBAC had a look at that and wrote back to me saying they had examined that and dismissed the complaint," Mr Ashton told 3AW Radio in Melbourne.

He confirmed the police investigation of Cardinal Pell was now with the Office of Public Prosecutions.

"That's a matter that we investigated and that we are still investigating, and it's with the OPP at the moment," he said.

"…It's still with them for assessment.

"What happens is we send up the case as it is when we reach a certain stage, and they — not this case specifically but more generally — they'll give us their opinion whether they think more investigation is warranted."

When asked if Cardinal Pell would be interviewed before any potential charges were laid, Mr Ashton said it was normal to interview someone before the end of an inquiry.

Men say they were abused at pool

Lyndon Monument told 7.30 he had made a statement to Victoria Police alleging that when he was a boy in the late 1970s, Cardinal Pell, then a Ballarat priest, would touch him inappropriately when they were in the local Eureka swimming pool.

"You know, his hand touching your genitals and stuff on the outside of your bathers or shorts. And then that slowly became [a] hand down the front of the pants or your bathers or whatever you call them," he said.

In his statement to police, a former school mate of Mr Monument's, Damian Dignan, made a similar allegation about George Pell's behaviour in the swimming pool.

"[He would] grab you. Around the testes, around the anus," he said.

Cardinal George Pell as a young man. ( Supplied )

But the wife of a former manager of the Eureka pool told 7.30 and police she never saw Cardinal Pell display any behaviour that concerned her.

Torquay resident Les Tyack gave a statement to Victoria Police alleging that in the 1980s he found George Pell standing naked in front of three boys in the change rooms at the local surf club.

Mr Tyack told 7.30: "I thought that was not on. [A] very strange situation for an adult to be full frontal to three young boys.

"When they left, I then said to George Pell, 'I know what you're up to. Piss off. Get out of here. If I see you back in this club again, I'll call the police'."

7.30 said police are also investigating a complaint Cardinal Pell abused two teenage choir boys when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s.

Cardinal Pell is entitled to the presumption of innocence and police and prosecutors, will decide whether the allegations warrant any charges.

Cardinal Pell says allegations 'totally untrue'

Cardinal Pell declined to be interviewed by 7.30 but said in a statement to the program ahead of broadcast that "claims that he sexually abused anyone, in any place, at any time in his life, are totally untrue and completely wrong".

The current Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, released a statement saying he has known Cardinal Pell for more than 55 years, and the 7.30 allegations did not reflect the man he knew or the behaviour which he had observed over the years he has known him.

Andrew Collins, a survivor of clerical sexual abuse in Ballarat who travelled to Rome in March to hear Cardinal Pell give evidence to the Royal Commission and met with the Cardinal after he finished his testimony, watched the 7.30 story.

He said he was "surprised" by the number of allegations levelled against Cardinal Pell and the similarity of the allegations.

"I think he should be stood down," Mr Collins said.

"Of course we have to presume that anyone is innocent until proven guilty, and I think he has that right, but I think it would be prudent for the Vatican to stand him down from this position.

"And I think the days of the Church investigating themselves are well and truly over.

"Cardinal Pell needs to return to Australia as quickly as possible so this can be dealt with. And it has to be dealt with by the police, not by any inquiry that's set up by the Church."

Editor's note: On Tuesday April 7, 2020, the High Court in a unanimous decision upheld Cardinal Pell's appeal and quashed his convictions on all five charges.

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