George Pell’s legal team has applied to Australia’s High Court for special leave to appeal the jailed cardinal’s child sex abuse conviction. Although special leave cases are not usually granted by the High Court, it’s possible Pell’s could be accepted. This is because judges at his appeal could not agree about Pell’s guilt or innocence. Read more
The Vatican is holding off from issuing any disciplinary measures against Cardinal George Pell until the Australian prelate has exhausted all legal avenues in trying to overturn his convictions for the sexual abuse of children. After a panel of judges rejected Pell’s attempt to overturn the December 2018 jury’s guilty verdict against him, the Holy Read more
One of the judges who heard Cardinal George Pell’s appeal says he would have quashed the cardinal’s five convictions for child sex offences. Judge Mark Weinberg says he would have based his decision on a “significant body of cogent evidence” that cast serious doubt on the victim’s account. In his dissenting ruling, Weinberg says the Read more
An ageing and dishevelled Cardinal George Pell, Wednesday, returned to his cell in solitary confinement at the Melbourne Assessment Prison. The journey follows the Court of Appeal’s split 2-1 decision handed down by Chief Justice Anne Ferguson. Both she and Justice Chris Maxwell experienced no doubt about Pell’s guilt. “The Chief Justice and Justice Maxwell Read more
Former Australian archbishop, Philip Wilson, is appealing his conviction for not reporting allegations of child sexual abuse disclosed to him in the 1970s. Wilson told the court via electronic communication that he is innocent and had no recollection of the accusations of abuse committed by Fr James Fletcher when Fletcher was charged with child sex Read more