One of the most powerful men in the Roman Catholic Church, Australian
Cardinal George Pell, 77, has been found guilty of multiple historical
child sex offenses at a secret trial in Melbourne.
Pell is almost certain to face prison after a jury found him guilty
of one charge of sexual penetration of a child and four charges of an
indecent act with or in the presence of a child in the late 1990s.
The conviction of Pell, the Vatican treasurer and a close adviser to
Pope Francis, will send shockwaves through the church, which is already
reeling from accusations of sexual abuse committed by priests worldwide.
Pell is the most senior Catholic official to be found guilty of child
sex offenses to date. His conviction brings the escalating
international controversy around the abuse of children in Catholic
institutions straight to the doors of the Holy See.
A court order banning media reporting of Pell’s five-week long trial,
which began in November 2018, was lifted by Chief Judge Peter Kidd on
Tuesday. The prosecution’s case hinged on the testimony of one man, who
said Pell sexually abused him and another boy in Melbourne’s historic
St. Patrick’s Cathedral after mass one Sunday.
The second victim later died from a drug overdose having never
revealed the abuse to anyone, while the surviving accuser can not be
identified under Australian law governing sex abuse victims.