Pope 'doubts' sex abuse case against Australian cardinal

Pope Francis said on Sunday there were "doubts" over the case being made against Vatican finance chief George Pell, Australia's most senior Roman Catholic, for alleged child abuse.

"There are doubts. 'In dubio pro reo'," he said, using a Latin expression meaning that a defendant may not be convicted by the court when doubts about his or her guilt remain.

"We must avoid a media verdict, a verdict based on gossip," he told journalists aboard the papal plane during the return trip from Poland, where he had headlined a Catholic youth festival.

Explosive allegations emerged against the Australian cardinal last week with two men now in their 40s saying Pell had groped them during the 1970s.