Cardinal Pell raped 13-year-old in cathedral
BY RECORD REPORTER THE Vatican treasurer has been convicted of raping one choirboy and molesting another.
Cardinal George Pell, 77, is the most senior Catholic ever to be charged with child sex abuse.
Pel l , who was Pope Francis’s top financial adviser, was found guilty in court in Melbourne in his native Australia.
He abused two 13-year-old choirboys in the city’s cathedral in 1996 after catching them drinking sacramental wine after Mass.
The pervert denied the charges but a jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts.
Pell was convicted of the offences in December but it couldn’t be reported until now for legal reasons. A sentencing hearing starts today.
One of his victims died, aged 31, of a heroin overdose in 2014.
The other said he had experienced “shame , loneliness, depression and struggle” as a result of the abuse.
Pell has lodged an appeal against his convictions. The Vatican said it would wait until the appeal was concluded before taking action against the rapist.
But he has been banned from public ministry and having contact with minors.
The Vatican added that the court ruling was “painful”but said Pell has the right to “defend himself to the last degree”.
News of the cardinal’s shame emerged days after Pope Francis concluded a summit of Catholic leaders on how to prevent clergy sex abuse and protect children from predator priests.
In October, Francis removed Pell as a member of his informal cabinet. Pell technically remains prefect of the Vatican’s economy ministry.