Cardinal George Pell loses appeal on child sex abuse charges

MELBOURNE - Convicted pedophile cardinal George Pell had his appeal against child sex abuse charges rejected by an Australian court on Wednesday.

Once the Vatican's third-ranking official, 78-year-old Pell was sentenced this year to 6 years in jail for sexually assaulting two 13-year-old choirboys at a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s.

"He will continue to serve his sentence of six years imprisonment," said Chief Justice Anne Ferguson, dismissing a series of appeals from Pell's lawyers.

Pell is the most senior Catholic convicted of child sex abuse, making his case and Wednesday's ruling a touchstone moment for believers and victims groups around the world.

A large crowd of victims, advocates, lawyers and media gathered outside the court ahead of the hotly awaited verdict, with a long queue to enter the building forming along the street.

After more than two months of deliberations, a three-judge appeals panel handed down its decision.

The clergyman's lawyers raised 13 objections to his conviction, casting doubt on everything from the physical possibility of Pell removing his robes to the credibility of the main witness.

They argued the verdict was "unreasonable".

The case was unusual in that it relied heavily on the closed-door testimony of the sole surviving victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The verdict could have wide-ranging implications for sexual assault cases that rely on the account of a single victim.

On Monday, the father of the second victim -- who died of a drug overdose in 2014 -- expressed hopes that "justice would prevail" and that the ordeal would soon be over.

"He just wants closure so he can try to get on with his life and stop thinking about it every single day," lawyer Lisa Flynn told AFP.

ANOTHER APPEAL POSSIBLE

Two so-called "fallback" arguments for Pell related to alleged procedural errors during his trial.

His lawyers argued they should have been allowed to show an animated reconstruction of people's movements in the cathedral on the days of the assaults.

They also took issue with the fact that Pell was not arraigned in the presence of the jury. The process was completed via video link so the large pool of potential jurors was able to watch.

Pell had already faced two juries, after his first trial in 2018 ended in a hung jury.

But Pell is still be able to challenge the decision in Australia's High Court, the country's final court of appeal.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pope 'doubts' sex abuse case vs Australian cardinal

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE - Pope Francis said Sunday there were "doubts" over the case being made against Vatican finance chief George Pell, Australia's most senior Roman Catholic, for alleged child abuse.

"There are doubts. 'In dubio pro reo'," he said using a Latin expression meaning that a defendant may not be convicted by the court when doubts about his or her guilt remain.

"We must avoid a media verdict, a verdict based on gossip," he told journalists aboard the papal plane during the return trip from Poland, where he had headlined a Catholic youth festival.

Explosive allegations emerged against the Australian cardinal last week with two men now in their 40s saying Pell had groped them during the 1970s.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation which aired their claims also alleged Pell was naked in front of three young boys, believed to be aged eight to 10, in a Torquay surf club changing room in summer 1986-87.

Pell, 75, has denied the allegations and suggested there was a conspiracy against him.

The allegations come just months after Pell admitted he "mucked up" in dealing with paedophile priests in Victoria in the 1970s, while giving evidence to a national inquiry into institutional responses to child sex abuse.

He was accused of historic sex abuse claims when he was the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney in 2002, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

Pell was ordained in Rome in 1966 before returning to Australia in 1971 and rising to become the nation's top Catholic official.

He left for the Vatican in 2014 after being hand-picked by Pope Francis to make the Church's finances more transparent, although his powers were reined in earlier this month.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com