Cardinal Pell convicted by
Australian Court
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| Cardinal George Pell (AFP) |
The Prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy has
been found guilty of child sexual abuse. The verdict was handed down on
December 11th, but the Melbourne Court had issued an order prohibiting the
publication of information concerning the trial. The Cardinal continues to
plead innocent, and his lawyer plans to appeal.
By Jean Charles Putzolu and Roberto Piermarini
Cardinal George Pell, 77, Prefect of the Vatican Secretariat
for the Economy since 2014, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two
children under the age of sixteen when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the
1990’s.
He was appointed to Melbourne in 1996, and transferred to
Sydney in 2001. Two years later, he was created Cardinal. Pope Francis invited
him to join the Council of Cardinals, the body that assists the Pope in the
reform of the Roman Curia, in 2013. George Pell left Sydney, Australia, where
he had been Archbishop since 2001, and moved to Rome.
Royal Australian Commission
In 2014 he was called for the first time to testify before
the Royal Australian Commission that investigates sexual abuse. Between
December 2015 and February 2016, he faced further accusations of protecting
other priests from abuse committed against children in the 1970’s. He replied
to the Australian Commission by video conference from Rome on 29 February 2016,
and denied being aware of the events in his home Diocese of Ballarat.
In October 2016, the Cardinal was questioned by Australian
lawyers in Rome, this time on charges of paedophilia in his former diocese of
Melbourne. At the end of June 2017, he was formally accused of sexual violence
against a minor. The Ballarat police authorities then provided only partial
information and reported several complaints, without giving further details.
Called to appear before a court on July 26th, Cardinal Pell
left the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy in order to defend himself. He has
always claimed that the charges against him are unfounded and that he considers
sexual abuse a "horrible crime".
Protection of Minors
The Cardinal has constantly condemned abuses committed
against minors as “immoral and intolerable”. He supported the creation by Pope
Francis of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in Rome, and
when he was a Bishop in Australia, he established procedures to protect minors
and provide assistance to victims.
George Pell was the subject of a separate trial regarding
other allegations of misconduct, but the charges were withdrawn on the basis of
insufficient evidence. The Court had imposed a media blackout in order to avoid
influencing the legal proceedings in progress.
Guilty verdict
The unanimous guilty verdict was handed down by 12 jury
members at the County Court of Victoria, Australia, after more than two days of
deliberation. The verdict was decided on December 11th but only made public
today. Sentencing hearings will begin tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Cardinal
continues to plead innocent and his lawyer plans to appeal.
Australian Bishops’ Conference reaction
The President of the Australian Bishops’ Conference,
Archbishop Mark Coleridge, has issued a statement in the name of the Conference,
that reads as follows:
“The news of Cardinal George Pell’s conviction on historical
child sexual abuse charges has shocked many across Australia and around the
world, including the Catholic Bishops of Australia. The Bishops agree that
everyone should be equal under the law, and we respect the Australian legal
system. The same legal system that delivered the verdict will consider the
appeal that the Cardinal’s legal team has lodged. Our hope, at all times, is
that through this process, justice will be served. In the meantime, we pray for
all those who have been abused and their loved ones, and we commit ourselves
anew to doing everything possible to ensure that the Church is a safe place for
all, especially the young and the vulnerable.”
Father Zollner: we await the outcome of the appeal
On the case regarding Cardinal Pell, Federico Piana of Radio
Vaticana Italia spoke to Father Hans Zollner, member of the Pontifical
Commission for the Protection of Minors and president of the Center for the
Protection of Children established at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
A. The process has been quite troubling from what I have
heard from a distance... Then there are some things even within the Australian
judicial system that for us Europeans are really strange. For example: for
months it was known that he had been found guilty, but without the possibility
of talking about it and knowing the reasons for it. Now we know, he has been
convicted. Now he will appeal, of course, and then let's see what comes out. In
any case, any person regardless of role or position if he has committed a crime
must be punished. I am not a lawyer and I do not know this system which seems
to me to be very complex... Now, we are at the first instance ‘first stage in
the legal process’, the cardinal will appeal and then we will see what the
outcome will be. We have already had the case of Archbishop [Philip] Wilson of
Adelaide who in the first instance was convicted not of abuse, but of having
‘covered up' and in the second instance was acquitted... So let's see what will
come out in this case.
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