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
Abuse survivor Tim Lennon says the Vatican should have been decisive after George Pell was convicted and immediately defrocked him. However following the Victoria Supreme Court’s 2-1 ruling against Pell (78) last week, his legal team says it is considering a further appeal to Australia’s High Court. The Vatican says it is waiting for Pell 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
The Victorian Court of Appeal will announce it’s decision on Wednesday morning on whether it will overturn Cardinal George Pell’s convictions for sexually abusing two choirboys. Three judges are examining Pell’s appeal. The appeal proceedings will be live streamed on the Supreme Court of Victoria’s website. If the court finds the jury got it wrong, Read more
A clerical abuse survivor says convicted Australian paedophile Cardinal George Pell is “arrogant”. His claim relates to Pell’s prison-penned letter linking his suffering in jail to that of Jesus Christ suffering on the cross. Stephen Woods says he is not surprised by “anything other than the level of arrogance” in the letter, which was posted Read more
A letter purporting to be from disgraced Australian cardinal George Pell to his supporters has been posted on Twitter. The full text of the letter dated 1 August was posted last Friday evening by the ‘Cardinal George Pell Supporters’ Twitter account. Prison authorities are investigating whether Pell broke Melbourne Assessment Prison rules by posting the Read more
The Court of Appeal has been dealing with last-minute questions about the way George Pell’s jury was empanelled as it prepares to deliver its ruling on one of the nation’s biggest legal cases. The three judges have been examining the law around how Pell was arraigned when no jury panel members were physically present in Read more
The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne will be laying off numerous staff to tackle a budget deficit and rising debt. Although the current financial situation is not believed to relate directly to the financial compensation payouts as a result of clergy abuse, it feeds into the way the church does its business. The issue has provoked Read more
Australian artist Scott Marsh says he was disappointed to hear his mural of convicted child sex offender and former archbishop George Pell had been painted over – but he wasn’t surprised. “Given the history of some of my other works with religious themes it lasted longer than I thought it might, to be honest,” he Read more