What saw him involved is one of the best-known pedophilia trials within the Church. The Australian Cardinal George Pell, 81, died in Rome. He had been prefect emeritus of the Secretariat for the Economy, but he had been archbishop emeritus of Melbourne and Sydney by appointment of John Paul II. He spent 400 days in jail on charges, later dropped, of child sexual abuse. Cardinal Pell was one of the most important personalities on the conservative front of the Catholic Church.
Pell died in Rome, in hospital, due to complications following a hip operation. In recent days he had attended the funeral of the pope emeritus. Created cardinal by Benedict XVI himself, he had been called to Rome by Francis and then placed at the helm of the Secretariat for the Economy from 2014.
In June 2017, he was arraigned for serious child sex offences, committed in the seventies, when Pell was parish priest in his hometown, Ballarat. On December 11, 2018 Pell was convicted of sexually abusing two 13-year-old altar boys by a jury in the County Court of the State of Victoria and on March 13, 2019 sentenced to six years in prison.
The cardinal has always declared himself innocent. His appeal was rejected and he remained in prison for over 400 days. In 2020, the cardinal was unanimously acquitted by the Australian Supreme Court. The Australian cardinal recounted his experience in the book Prison diary. Pope Francis himself thanked him for his testimony.
– Pope Ratzinger signed his coming out
– Pope Francis, why are the popes now speaking openly of resignation?
– Benedict XVI, the pope who resigned, has died
Source: Vanity Fair
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