Cardinal pell news today

George Pell, the Australian cardinal who was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2018, has been in the news recently due to various developments in his case. Here are some of the latest updates:

  1. Appeal rejected: In April 2020, the High Court of Australia rejected Pell's appeal against his conviction, upholding the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal. This means that Pell remains convicted of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in the late 1990s.
  2. Royal Commission report: In February 2020, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its final report, which included a chapter on the Catholic Church's response to child sexual abuse. The report criticized the Church's handling of abuse cases, including the Pell case, and called for greater accountability and transparency.
  3. Pell's response: In response to the Royal Commission report, Pell issued a statement denying any wrongdoing and claiming that the allegations against him were "false and malicious." He also criticized the Commission's methods and accused it of being biased against the Catholic Church.
  4. Calls for Pell's resignation: In recent months, there have been renewed calls for Pell to resign as a cardinal and from his position as a senior advisor to Pope Francis. Many have argued that his conviction and the allegations against him make it impossible for him to continue in these roles.
  5. Pope Francis's response: Pope Francis has not publicly commented on Pell's conviction or the allegations against him. However, in 2019, he stripped Pell of his title as Archbishop of Sydney and removed him from his position as a member of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops.

It's worth noting that Pell's case has been highly controversial and has sparked intense debate about the Catholic Church's handling of child sexual abuse. Many have criticized the Church's response to the allegations against Pell and have called for greater accountability and transparency in the way it handles abuse cases.