The most senior Vatican official to be charged in connection with the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis has appeared in court in Australia for the first time.

The most senior Vatican cleric to be implicated in the Roman Catholic Church child abuse scandal has returned to Australia to stand trial on multiple charges of sexual assault from years ago.

Australian police flew to Rome to interview a senior Vatican cardinal about allegations of sexual assault dating back decades.

A senior Vatican official told an Australian sex abuse inquiry that he did not act when a boy raised abuse allegations against a cleric in the 1970s.

Interrupted by jeers from observers, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers denied an accusation that his testimony to an inquiry into child sex abuse was an attempt to deflect blame for the Catholic Church transferring Australia’s worst paedophile priest from parish to parish.

Pope Francis, galvanised by a scandal over Vatican finances, has ordered the most powerful bodies in the city-state to launch an unprecedented audit of its wealth and crackdown on runaway spending.

Pope Francis’s finance minister has denied an allegation that he offered a bribe to a victim of clergy abuse to protect a paedophile priest.

Pope Benedict XVI left the Catholic Church in unprecedented limbo today as he became the first pope in 600 years to resign, capping a tearful day of farewells that included an extraordinary pledge of obedience to his successor.

Australia’s prime minister has ordered an inquiry into claims of child sex abuse in state and religious institutions and community groups.

CATHOLICS worldwide celebrated the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II, with the faithful jamming into churches to pray and witness on giant television screens the Vatican ceremony that brought him one step closer to possible sainthood.

POPE Benedict XVI canonised Australia’s first saint, Mary MacKillop, at a Mass in Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican yesterday in front of tens of thousands of cheering pilgrims.

A Catholic cardinal urged tougher action against paedophiles after the church confirmed two Irish priests accused of molesting girls continued working in Australia's two largest cities despite being barred.

CATHOLIC Church authorities abroad, concerned that abusers uncovered by the Child Abuse Commission may also have worked in their countries, will not be able to obtain the true identities of the individuals protected by pseudonyms in the commission’s report.

Young Roman Catholic pilgrims attended religious classes throughout Sydney today, a quiet recovery after a Mass and pop concert thronged by more than 100,000 people the night before.

Thousands of pilgrims converged on Sydney today as the city braced itself for the weekend arrival of the Pope and the start of the World Youth Day festival, the biggest event held in Australia since the 2000 Olympics.

The head of the Roman Catholic church in Australia says he expects Pope Benedict XVI to express regret for sexual abuse by church officials when he visits the country next week.

THE Catholic Church in Australia has offered condolences to the family of a former Limerick altar boy, now deceased, who alleged he was abused by an Irish priest who served in Sydney.

Australian prime minister John Howard today welcomed news the Pope is to visit Sydney for the World Youth Day celebrations in 2008, an event expected to draw thousands of overseas pilgrims to the city.