The newly-appointed commissioner of the Catholic Church, during an Australian interview, accused Vatican's finance chief for his "almost sociopathic" ignorance of children being abused.
Peter Saunders, the man recently selected by Pope Francis to be the new adviser for the church on child policies, stated that Australian cardinal George Pell should step down from his position over his alleged blatant disregard of abused children in the church in Australia, according to a report from Reuters.
"He is making a mockery of the papal commission (into child abuse), of the Pope himself, but most of all of the victims and the survivors," Saunders proclaimed during "60 Minutes Australia" on Sunday night.
"He has a catalogue of denigrating people, of acting with callousness, cold-heartedness, almost sociopathic I would go as far as to say, this lack of care," he added.
He also suggested that Pell should go back to Australia to testify, which the separate Australian abuse inquiry confirmed that Pell was asked to do so.
Not long after, Pell issued a statement after Saunders' interview was aired, saying that the child abuse adviser's claims were "false and misleading" and that he will be seeking advice from lawyers regarding the matter, ABC News reported.
"Cardinal Pell has never met Mr Saunders, who seems to have formed his strong opinions without ever having spoken to His Eminence. In light of all of the available material, including evidence from the Cardinal under oath, there is no excuse for broadcasting incorrect and prejudicial material," Pell's spokesperson said in a statement.
During his time as cardinal for Australia, Pell has faced numerous criticisms around the country for alleged cover-ups of child abuse cases in the church, and those cover-ups have recently surfaced during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Saunders, on the other hand, is a child abuse survivor from Britain and has been outright of his criticism of the Church's handling of child abuse cases, even describing himself as the "thorn in the side of the Catholic Church," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.