Silent but defiant, Cardinal George Pell made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday.

Two men who are among dozens to accuse Paul Shanley of sexual abuse appeared at a news conference to warn the public about Shanley's release from prison.

At least 547 members of a prestigious Catholic boys' choir in Germany were physically or sexually abused between 1945 and 1992, according to a report released Tuesday.

Pell is free ahead of his court hearing, during which he can formally apply for bail. When police announced the charges last month, Pell vowed to fight the allegations, saying: "The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me."

Cardinal Pell will return to Australia to appear in court at a hearing scheduled for July 6.

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ chief financial adviser and Australia's most senior Catholic, is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged in the church’s long-running sexual abuse scandal.