The former Vatican Economy Minister and advisor to Pope Francis was found guilty by an Australian court of sexual abuse of minors committed in 1996.
Australian Cardinal George Pell, former Vatican Economy Minister, was this week found guilty by Australian justice of crimes of sexual abuse of minors, according to the international press specializing in religious matters. The news is being carried by Australian media outlets, such as Crux or the Catholic News Agency, after Australian newspapers were prevented from reporting on the trial.
According to Crux, the cardinal who was one of the most important figures in the Vatican until he was implicated in this case was unanimously found guilty by a Melbourne court jury of five counts of sexual abuse against two minors that occurred in 1996. The verdict will have was announced on Tuesday, but it was only made public today through information released by sources familiar with the process to the press. The sentence will be read in February of next year and everything indicates that the cardinal will face a prison sentence from that moment on.
Cardinal George Pell, now 77 years old, was appointed in 2014 by Pope Francis to the post of prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, with the aim of leading the economic reform of the Catholic Church and cleaning up the image of an institution marked by due to the financial scandals of recent years. Pell was, until this week, one of the members of the powerful C9, Pope Francis’s restricted council of advisors.
Australian newspapers complain of censorship and criticize the justice system for preventing the publication of news about the trial of Cardinal George Pell, one of the most publicized cases in that country at the moment. The Vatican has also not commented, until now, on the news, saying it respects the Australian court’s decision.