Australian Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Vatican official to be charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis, arrived Wednesday

for an appearance in a Melbourne court where he will eventually stand trial on sexual abuse charges spanning decades.

Magistrate Belinda Wallington on Tuesday ordered Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic to appear at Victoria state County Court after

ruling that prosecutors’ case was strong enough to warrant a trial by jury.

Pell is expected to face a brief preliminary hearing in which a trial date could be set.

Wallington dismissed about half the charges that had been heard in a four-week preliminary hearing. The details of the allegations and

the number of charges have not been made public.

Lawyers for Pell, who is Pope Francis’ finance minister, have been fighting the allegations since before he was charged last June with

sexual abuse against multiple people in Victoria from the time he was a priest in his hometown of Ballarat in the 1970s until the 1990s,

when he was archbishop of Melbourne.

When Wallington asked Pell on Tuesday how he pleaded, the cardinal said in a firm voice, “Not guilty.” Wallington gave the 76-year-old

permission not to stand, as is customary.

When the magistrate left the room at the end of the hearing, many people in the packed public gallery broke into applause.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke issued a statement saying: “The Holy See has taken note of the decision issued by judicial authorities in

Australia regarding His Eminence Cardinal George Pell. Last year, the Holy Father granted Cardinal Pell a leave of absence so he could

defend himself from the accusations. The leave of absence is still in place.”

Pell’s plea marked the only words he spoke in public during the hearing. Wearing a cleric’s collar, white shirt and dark suit, he was silent

as he entered and left the downtown courthouse with his lawyer, Robert Richter. More than 40 police officers maintained order on the

crowded sidewalk outside.