Cardinal George Pell’s final opportunity to have his conviction for sexually abusing two 13-year old choirboys overturned is only a month away. His lawyers will be pleading his case in the High Court of Australia March 11-12. Although the hearing is only weeks away, the full bench of Australia’s highest court — either five or Read more
Two Federal High Court Justices, Michelle Gordon and James Edelman, Wednesday, gave Cardinal George Pell another chance to appeal his conviction for abusing two choirboys at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne. Of the 22 applications listed on November 13 to appear before the High Court, Pell’s is the only one to be granted. The two High Court Read more
Two former employees of the Melbourne Cathedral school have come forward expressing doubts about events that landed Cardinal George Pell in prison. In 1996, Lil Sinozic and Jean Corish were on duty at the Cathedral nearly every Sunday morning. “I just know for a fact that what they’re describing could not have happened, given the Read more
Cardinal George Pell, who before his conviction of child sex abuse was the Vatican’s prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, strongly opposed a 50 million euro loan request to purchase a bankrupt hospital. His decision was endorsed by financial authorities at the Institute for Works of Religion, commonly called the Vatican Bank or IOR. Read more
Victoria’s Office of Public Prosecutions has filed a summary of their argument against jailed cardinal George Pell’s “special leave to appeal” application. The director of public prosecutions, Kerri Judd QC, has challenged Pell’s grounds to appeal to the High Court. Background December 2018: Pell found guilty in the County Court of Victoria on five charges Read more
For more than four years, the fate of Australia’s most powerful Catholic cleric rested on the word of a former choirboy. For police, for the courts and the church, it all came down to the truthfulness, credibility and believability of a single witness, alone and unsupported in what he alleged against George Pell. In an Read more
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
Pope Francis has ordered Vatican officials to close a widening budget deficit at the Holy See. They have to stop poorly managed spending and investments from undermining the operations of the Catholic Church’s global headquarters. The forthcoming financial statements will be the Vatican’s first to completely follow international public sector accounting standards. The Holy See’s Read more
Australia’s Catholic Church needs to completely overhaul itself following Cardinal George Pell’s sex abuse conviction. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics are pushing for the church to open itself to ordaining women, ending clericalism and enabling people who are LGBTI or divorced to be included more. Prominent Catholics are sounding alarm bells, warning the Church that Read more
An Australian comedy group says it wants to weld ‘convicted paedophile’ to the description under a plaque of Cardinal George Pell. Shortly after Pell’s child sex abuse appeal was dismissed last Wednesday, Australian comedy group The Chaser visited St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, where a commemorative plaque dedicated to the imprisoned cleric is on display. Read more