Martin refuses to comment as Pell appeals against abuse conviction

ARCHBISHOP of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin says he won’t comment on the conviction of Irish-Australian Cardinal George Pell as he is appealing his conviction for child sex abuse.

Pell became the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse after he was found guilty of molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral.

He spent his first night behind bars this week when Victorian state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd revoked his bail ahead of delivering his sentence on March 13.

When asked yesterday to comment on Pell, who was an adviser to Pope Francis, Dr Martin first said he hadn’t seen the details, before referring to a possible appeal.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen the details. I think the important thing is the legal process has gone to this stage, I respect that,” Dr Martin told the Irish Independent.

“Appeal is still part of the process, so we have to wait until that happens.”

Pell, a former treasurer at the Vatican, abused two boys in 1996, a jury unanimously found in December.

He was convicted of one charge of sexually penetrating a child under 16, and four counts of committing an indecent act on a child under 16.

However, for legal reasons the details of the case had remained secret until Tuesday this week.

He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each of the charges.