Vatican issues statement on conviction of Cardinal Pell by Oz court

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Vatican City, March 1, 2019: The Vatican press office has issued a statement on the announced conviction of Cardinal George Pell of Melbourne on charges of the sexual abuse of minors.  The decision of the County Court of Victoria was reached on December 11, 2018, but not widely reported until this week, following the imposition of a sweeping gag order by the court in June of last year. Pell was convicted on five counts of child sexual abuse against two former choristers in Melbourne Cathedral in 1996.

The statement from the Holy See press office, issued Feb. 26, acknowledges the “painful” news which has “shocked many people.” “As already expressed on other occasions, we have the utmost respect for the Australian judicial authorities,” the statement said.

“Out of this respect, we await the outcome of the appeals process, recalling that Cardinal Pell maintains his innocence and has the right to defend himself until the last stage of appeal.”   The statement confirms that Pell has been barred from public ministry and from contact with minors during the course of the legal process, and will remain so during his appeal.

“In order to ensure the course of justice, the Holy Father has confirmed the precautionary measures which had been imposed by the local Ordinary on Cardinal George Pell when he returned to Australia. That is, while awaiting the definitive assessment of the facts, as is the norm, Cardinal George Pell is prohibited from exercising public ministry and from having any voluntary contact whatsoever with minors.”

The lifting of the court imposed gag order followed the decision by local prosecutors to drop further charges related to Pell’s time as a priest in the 1970s. With the proposed second trial cancelled, Chief Judge Peter Kidd lifted the reporting restrictions.

Pell is appealing the conviction.  The Vatican statement followed a similar release by Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Melbourne, president of the Australian Bishops’ Conference.

“The bishops [of Australia] 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,” Coleridge wrote.

Cardinal Pell in custody after conviction :
Cardinal George Pell will spend his first night behind bars February 27, Wednesday following his  conviction for child sex crimes, capping an extraordinary fall from grace for one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church.  Once among Pope Francis’ closest advisers and the most senior Catholic cleric ever found guilty of child sex crimes, Pell returned to court for a pre-sentencing hearing a day after his conviction was made public on February 26, Tuesday.

Pell, who has lodged an appeal against the verdict, will be sentenced on March 13. His lawyers earlier withdrew an application for bail following his conviction, saying the cleric “believes it is appropriate for him to await sentencing”.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Chief Judge Peter Kidd blasted Pell’s behaviour at Saint Patrick’s as “callous, brazen offending”.  “I think it did involve breach of trust... he exploited two vulnerable young boys. They were entrusted into the care of the church... and the person who stood at the top of that was your client,” he said.

Arguing that Pell should receive a substantial punishment, Crown Prosecutor Mark Gibson said the cleric had “shown no remorse” nor “taken responsibility for his actions”. But defence lawyers issued a statement following the hearing insisting that “despite the unprecedented media coverage, Cardinal Pell has always and continues to maintain his innocence.  Like any person he has the right to pursue his legal rights and will do so.”

Pell’s barrister, Robert Richter, argued in court for a short prison sentence, saying that even if Pell had committed the crimes, they were no more than a “plain sexual penetration case where a child is not volunteering”. 

Inputs from Matters India News