Sydney, Australia | AFP | Cardinal George Pell has penned a letter in Australia’s national newspaper just days after walking free from prison in which he says the Catholic Church has “cut out a moral cancer” by facing down child sex abuse. The letter, published Saturday in The Weekend Australian, …
Read More »Pope rails against ‘unjust sentences’ as Cardinal Pell freed
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis decried “unjust” sentences against “innocent” people on Tuesday, hours after Australian Cardinal George Pell walked free from prison following the quashing of his conviction for child sex abuse. Australia’s High Court overturned five counts of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in the …
Read More »Cardinal Pell freed after winning appeal over child sex abuse
Lara, Australia | AFP | Cardinal George Pell was released from prison Tuesday, hours after Australia’s High Court quashed his conviction for child sex abuse, bringing an end to the most high-profile paedophilia case faced by the Catholic Church. The 78-year-old left Barwon Prison near Melbourne after the court overturned five …
Read More »Disgraced Cardinal Pell awaits appeal verdict
Brisbane, Australia | AFP | Cardinal George Pell will learn whether his appeal against child sex abuse convictions has been successful Tuesday, when Australia’s High Court hands down its judgement. The former Vatican treasurer is trying to overturn a six-year sentence for sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys at a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s. Pell, who …
Read More »Australia’s Cardinal Pell loses child sex abuse appeal
Melbourne, Australia | AFP | Disgraced Cardinal George Pell lost his appeal against child sex abuse convictions Wednesday, prompting relief from victims who fought to bring one of the Catholic Church’s most powerful men to justice. A former Vatican treasurer, Pell had been trying to overturn the verdicts and six-year sentence …
Read More »Father hopes for justice as Cardinal Pell waits on appeal verdict for child sex abuse crimes
Sydney, Australia | AFP | The father of one of the victims of jailed Australian Cardinal George Pell said Monday he hoped “justice would prevail” as a court prepared to rule on an appeal against his conviction of child sex abuse crimes. Pell, the former Vatican number three, is appealing against …
Read More »Disgraced Cardinal Pell appeal verdict due next week
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Judges will rule next week on Australian Cardinal George Pell’s appeal against his conviction on multiple child sex abuse charges, court officials announced Thursday. Pell, 78, the former Vatican number three, was sentenced in March to six years in prison for sexually assaulting two choirboys in …
Read More »The Catholic Church & child sex abuse
Pope Francis calls for an ‘all-out battle’ against the evil ANALYSIS | Gerard O’Connell | In his closing talk to the Vatican summit for the protection of minors on Feb.24, Pope Francis offered a wide-ranging analysis of the plague of the sexual abuse of minors in the world and the …
Read More »Convicted Australian cardinal to be sued over alleged abuse: reports
Melbourne, Australia | AFP | A man is set to sue convicted Australian Cardinal George Pell over child sex abuse allegations, reports said Monday, days after state prosecutors dropped his criminal case against the disgraced cleric. Pell — the most senior Catholic clergyman to be found guilty of child sex abuse — is currently in …
Read More »Open justice or fair trial? Australia’s gagging of the Pell case
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Cardinal George Pell’s trial and conviction of child sex abuse in Australia was one of the biggest scandals to hit the Catholic Church, but the public was not allowed to know about it for months. A blanket gag order stopped reporters from even mentioning the trial’s …
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