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Tag: Cardinal George Pell

  • Controversial Catholic cleric Pell dies at 81

    Controversial Catholic cleric Pell dies at 81

    Pell passed away at the age of 81. The Catholic Church was shocked by Cardinal George Pell’s conviction on child abuse charges, which was later overturned.

    The former Vatican treasurer is the highest-ranking Catholic priest ever imprisoned in Australia and the most senior Church official ever.

    Church officials claim that he passed away from heart issues following hip surgery.

    Before becoming one of the Pope’s top advisors, Cardinal Pell served as both the Archbishop of Melbourne and the Archbishop of Sydney.

    He was summoned to Rome in 2014 to clean up the Vatican’s finances, and was often described as the Church’s third-ranked official.

    But the cleric left his post in 2017, returning to Australia to face trial on child sex abuse charges.

    A jury in 2018 found he had abused two boys while Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s.

    Cardinal Pell, who always maintained his innocence, spent 13 months in prison before the High Court of Australia quashed the verdict in 2020.

    However a civil lawsuit – launched by the father of a choirboy that prosecutors alleged Cardinal Pell abused – is still under way.

    Meanwhile a landmark inquiry found that he knew of child sexual abuse by priests in Australia as early as the 1970s but failed to take action.

    The Child Abuse Royal Commission ran for several years, interviewing thousands of people, and its findings relating to Cardinal Pell were released after his acquittal. Cardinal Pell denied the allegation, insisting it was “not supported by evidence”.

    Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli paid tribute to Cardinal Pell as “a very significant and influential Church leader” while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his death would be a “shock to many”.

    George Pell
    Image caption,Cardinal George Pell was Australia’s highest ranking Catholic cleric

    Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott – a Catholic – praised the cleric as a “saint for our times” and “an inspiration for the ages”, saying the charges he’d faced were “a modern form of crucifixion”.

    But Steve Dimopoulos – a government minister in Cardinal Pell’s home state of Victoria – was among those who voiced mixed feelings.

    “Today would be a very difficult day for the cardinal’s family and loved ones, but also very difficult for survivors and victims of child sexual abuse and their families and my thoughts are with them,” he said.

    The cardinal was a polarising figure, both in Australia and abroad, something he himself conceded.

    He rose to prominence in the Church as a strong supporter of traditional Catholic values, often taking conservative views and advocating for priestly celibacy.

    Speaking to the BBC in 2020, Cardinal Pell said there was “no doubt” that his “direct” style and traditional approach to issues such as abortion had driven parts of the public against him.

    “The fact that I defend Christian teachings is irritating to a lot of people,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme.

    Source: BBC.com

  • George Pell: Court quashes cardinal’s sexual abuse convictions

    Cardinal George Pell has been freed from jail after Australia’s highest court overturned his convictions for child sexual abuse.

    The ex-Vatican treasurer, 78, was the most senior Catholic figure ever jailed for such crimes.

    In 2018, a jury found he abused two boys in Melbourne in the 1990s.

    But the High Court of Australia quashed that verdict on Tuesday, bringing an immediate end to Cardinal Pell’s six-year jail sentence.

    The Australian cleric had maintained his innocence since he was charged by police in June 2017.

    His case rocked the Catholic Church, where he had been one of the Pope’s most senior advisers.

    A full bench of seven judges ruled unanimously in Cardinal Pell’s favour, finding that the jury had not properly considered all the evidence presented at the trial.

    It was the cardinal’s final legal challenge after his conviction was upheld by a lower court last year.

    “I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice,” Cardinal Pell said in a statement on Tuesday before he left prison.

    Why was Pell jailed?

    In December 2018, a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choir boys in private rooms of St Patrick’s Cathedral in the mid-90s – when the cleric was Archbishop of Melbourne.

    The convictions included one count of sexual penetration and four counts of committing indecent acts.

    The trial heard testimony from a man alleged to be the sole surviving victim. Dozens of other witnesses provided alibis and other evidence.

    Cardinal Pell appealed against the verdict in Victoria’s Court of Appeal last year, but three judges upheld the decision by a 2-1 majority.

    Why did his appeal succeed this time?

    The cardinal argued that the jury relied too heavily on one person’s evidence. The judges agreed, saying the jury did not properly assess other information.

    “The jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s guilt,” said the court in its judgement.

    What’s been the reaction?

    Cardinal Pell said an injustice had been “remedied”, and said he held “no ill will to my accuser”.

    “I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough,” he said in a statement before.

    “However my trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the Church.”

    The father of the deceased choir boy was in shock at the decision, his lawyer said.

    “He says he no longer has faith in our country’s criminal justice system,” said Lisa Flynn.

    Victoria Police said it respected the court’s decision, adding: “Victoria Police remains committed to investigating sexual assault offences and providing justice for victims no matter how many years have passed.”

    Who is George Pell?

    Cardinal Pell was among the highest-ranking figures in the Church’s global hierarchy.

    Made a cardinal in 2003, he was summoned to Rome in 2014 to help clean up the Vatican’s finances.

    He forged a reputation as a disciplined Church leader who held strict conservative views against same-sex marriage, abortion and contraception.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Cardinal George Pell loses appeal against sexual abuse convictions

    Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of sexual abuse, has failed in a legal bid to quash his convictions in Australia.

    Pell was jailed for six years in March after being found guilty of abusing two boys in a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s. He maintains his innocence.

    A court of appeal rejected Pell’s argument that the verdict was unfair.

    The former Vatican treasurer, 78, will now consider a final appeal in the nation’s highest court.

    Last December, a jury unanimously convicted Pell of sexually abusing the 13-year-old boys at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

    Pell challenged the verdict by arguing it was “unreasonable” because there was insufficient evidence to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Read:Cardinal George Pell found guilty of sexual offences in Australia

    The cleric’s lawyers said the jury had relied too heavily on the “uncorroborated evidence” of the sole surviving victim. But his appeal was dismissed 2-1 by a panel of three judges in Victoria’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday.

    “Justice [Chris] Maxwell and I accepted the prosecution’s submission that the complainant was a compelling witness, was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist and was a witness of truth,” said Chief Justice Anne Ferguson.

    Pell’s conviction has rocked the Catholic Church, where he had been one of the Pope’s closest advisers. The Australian cleric will be eligible for parole in October 2022.

    What did the trial hear?

    Pell was archbishop of Melbourne in 1996 when he found the two boys on cathedral premises and sexually assaulted them. He abused one of the boys again in 1997.

    The trial heard testimony from one of the victims. The other died of a drug overdose in 2014.

    A jury rejected the defence argument that the allegations were fantasies. It convicted Pell of one charge of sexually penetrating a child, and four counts of committing an indecent act on a child.

    The verdict was kept secret from the public until February, when additional charges of sexual offences against Pell were withdrawn by prosecutors.

    What did the court of appeal say?

    The two judges who upheld the conviction said that they “did not experience a doubt” about the verdict.

    “We note that Cardinal Pell did not have to prove anything in the trial. Rather, at all stages of trial, the burden of proof rested with the prosecution,” Justice Ferguson said.

    Pell, who was present for the hearing, had faced the prospect of a retrial or being immediately set free if his appeal had been successful.

    Pell expressionless

    Phil Mercer, BBC News, Melbourne

    Read:Assisted dying: Australian cancer patient first to use new law

    It took less than five minutes for George Pell to learn his fate. Dressed in black and wearing a clerical collar, the man who was once in the Pope’s inner circle was impassive as Justice Ferguson handed down the decision.

    Occasionally, he looked down, his gaunt features betraying no emotion. When the news filtered through to campaigners and survivors of abuse outside, there was a loud cheer.

    “Pell looks better in green than black,” one activist told me, referring to the cardinal’s prison uniform.

    Campaigners accept, however, that Pell’s fight for freedom probably isn’t over and that a final court challenge could remain.

    What’s the reaction?

    Pell’s surviving victim, who cannot be named, said he was “grateful for a legal system that everyone can believe in”.

    “My journey has not been an easy one,” he said in a statement read by his lawyer. “It has been all the more stressful because it involved a high-profile figure.”

    Pell’s lawyers said he was “disappointed” with the decision and maintained his innocence.

    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters: “My sympathies are with the victims of child sexual abuse. Not just on this day, but on every single day.”

    He said Pell was likely to be stripped of his Order of Australia honour.

    Will there be another appeal?

    Pell’s lawyers said they would “thoroughly examine” the judgement to make a possible last-ditch appeal in the High Court of Australia.

    However, there is no guarantee that the court will agree to hear the case.

    What does the Church say?

    The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said it accepted the court’s decision, but added that it would “be distressing to many people”. It reiterated its commitment to tackling abuse.

    Cardinal Pell was demoted from the Pope’s inner circle last year. His five-year term as Vatican treasurer elapsed soon afterwards.

    Pope Francis continues to face calls for Pell to be defrocked.

    Source: bbc.com