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Cardinal Pell, acquitted of sex abuse charges, celebrates first public Mass since returning to Rome

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Cardinal Pell, acquitted of sex abuse charges, celebrates first public Mass since returning to Rome

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https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/stunning-claim-vatican-paid-witnesses-to-convict-george-pell/news-story/25c3e4740a7781742d1f9778110fb419

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George Pell returns to Rome after acquittal on child abuse charges

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George Pell returns to Rome after acquittal on child abuse charges

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This is a news collection page about Cardinal George Pell. George Pell is an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church convicted of child sexual abuse in March 2019

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Stunning claim cardinal ‘paid’ witnesses to convict George Pell using Vatican funds

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Stunning claim cardinal ‘paid’ witnesses to convict George Pell using Vatican funds

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https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/stunning-claim-vatican-paid-witnesses-to-convict-george-pell/news-story/25c3e4740a7781742d1f9778110fb419

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After more than a year in jail, Cardinal George Pell was released from prison on Tuesday, after the High Court overturned his convictions for child sexual abuse. The 78-year-old was driven out of Barwon Prison in the back seat of a car and taken to a church property in Melbourne's inner east.

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After more than a year in jail, Cardinal George Pell was released from prison on Tuesday, after the High Court overturned his convictions for child sexual abuse. The 78-year-old was driven out of Barwon Prison in the back seat of a car and taken to a church property in Melbourne's inner east.

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George Pell: Cardinal to return to Rome for first time since acquittal

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The ex-Vatican treasurer is to return to Rome for the first time since being acquitted of sexual abuse.

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George Pell: Court quashes cardinal's sexual abuse conviction

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George Pell: Court quashes cardinal's sexual abuse conviction

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-52183157

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George Pell holds public mass in Rome for 10th anniversary of Mother Mary MacKillop’s canonisation

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George Pell holds public mass in Rome for 10th anniversary of Mother Mary MacKillop’s canonisation

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In December 2018, a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choir boys in private rooms of St Patrick's Cathedral in the mid-90s - when the cleric was Archbishop of Melbourne.

The convictions included one count of sexual penetration and four counts of committing indecent acts.

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George Pell returns to Rome after acquittal on child abuse charges

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George Pell returns to Rome after acquittal on child abuse charges

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Cardinal returned to Vatican on Wednesday despite Australia’s Covid travel ban on ‘official Vatican government business’

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Journalists charged with breaching George Pell suppression order to face trial in November

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Journalists charged with breaching George Pell suppression order to face trial in November

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Twenty-one separate publications, six corporate groups and 19 individual journalists charged with breaching a suppression order during the George Pell trial in 2018 will face a single, but complex, trial in November.

Pell was acquitted of all charges by the high court on appeal in April.

At a case management hearing on Wednesday, Justice John Dixon heard the prosecution and the defence could not agree which documents should be supplied to each other.

Barrister Matthew Collins QC, appearing for the media, told the judge one of the respondents was incorrectly named due to the complexity of media corporate structures.

Despite the appointment of former federal judge Raymond Finkelstein as a mediator in July, the discovery process is far from over and Dixon said he will rule on the dispute at the next hearing, at a date yet to be set.

The suppression was imposed by the Victorian county court to prevent "a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice" because Pell was facing a second trial on separate charges.

But numerous publications referred to the verdict, without naming Pell, before the suppression order was lifted.

Melbourne's hometown tabloid, the Herald Sun, published the most dramatic piece: a black front page with the word CENSORED in large white letters. "The world is reading a very important story that is relevant to Victorians," the page one editorial said.

"The Herald Sun is prevented from publishing details of this very significant news. But trust us, it's a story you deserve to read."

The prosecutor, Kerri Judd QC, is pursuing contempt of court convictions against media including News Corp editors Sam Weir and Ben English, Australian Financial Review editor in chief Michael Stutchbury, the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald Lisa Davies, Nine Entertainment broadcasters Chris Smith, Deborah Knight and Christine Ahern, former Age editor Alex Lavelle and Age investigative journalist Michael Bachelard.

The corporations named on the respondent list include the Herald and Weekly Times, Nationwide News, Nine Entertainment, Advertiser Newspapers, Allure Media and Mamamia.com.au.

Dixon has already determined that the trial should go ahead in November, and it is likely to be heard remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Lisa De Ferrari SC, acting for the office of public prosecutions, argued that the media should be compelled to provide internal emails between journalists and editors.

But Collins disagreed, saying the correspondence might remove their right not to be incriminated.

A request by the defence for any internal documents sent by Judd was requested on the grounds it may reveal why the second prosecution of Pell was discontinued.

But De Ferrari said the request was a "slur" on the prosecution because if there were any relevant documents she would have supplied them already.

Much of the disagreement is over which respondent is responsible for publishing and whether reporters and website editors knew there was a suppression order and whether they can be held liable.

Victorian prosecutors originally asked the court to find 100 respondents guilty of contempt on the basis that publishing when there was a suppression order had the effect of "scandalising the court".

But 28 charges were dropped by Judd in February, including against reporters associated with the Age, Brisbane Times and WA Today.

The second trial Pell was facing was dropped on 26 February 2019, owing to a lack of admissible evidence, allowing the suppression order to be lifted.

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Journalists charged with breaching George Pell suppression order to face trial in November

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Twenty-one separate publications, six corporate groups and 19 individual journalists charged with breaching a suppression order during the George Pell trial in 2018 will face a single, but complex, trial in November. Pell was acquitted of all charges by the high court on appeal in April.

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Cardinal George Pell is being investigated by police over a new allegation of child sexual abuse, according to News Corp reports.

Pell was released from jail last Tuesday after the high court acquitted him on five historical child sexual abuse charges. Pell, 78, spent more than 400 days in jail after being convicted by a jury in December 2018. The high court acquitted Pell after finding the jury should have held a reasonable doubt as to his guilt.

Pell has given an exclusive interview to his longtime friend and supporter from Sky News, Andrew Bolt, which is due to air on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday the Herald-Sun reported that Pell was being investigated by police over an incident in the 1970s, when Pell was a priest in the Victorian town of Ballarat. The report did not suggest the allegation was true, and Pell has always vehemently denied all allegations of sexual abuse against him.

A Victoria police spokesman said: "Victoria police will not be providing any comment in relation to these allegations."

Guardian Australia has contacted the Catholic archdiocese of Sydney for comment.

Pell's spokeswoman, Katrina Lee, was quoted by the Herald-Sun as saying: "In any police matter there should be due process through the proper channels."

Pell may also face a number of civil cases.

In a preview of the Pell interview released by Sky News, Bolt alluded to the possibility of new investigations and said Pell would respond to questions about Victoria police in the interview. In the preview Bolt asks Pell: "How would you react if the Victorian police were to keep trawling for victims, keep trawling for attempts to prosecute you?"

Pell responds: "Well, I wouldn't be entirely surprised. But who knows. That's their business."

At a Victoria police media conference on Tuesday afternoon, deputy commissioner Shane Patton was asked for his response to allegations police had a vendetta against Pell.

Patton said: "I don't have any comments to make at all in respect to Cardinal Pell."

Bolt wrote numerous opinion pieces in support of Pell before the criminal case had concluded.

The conclusion of Pell's criminal trial last week sparked renewed calls for the federal attorney general, Christian Porter, to release the redacted sections of the child sexual abuse royal commission's final report that related to Pell. The commission, which examined institutional abuse throughout Australia, published its final report in 2017 but pages relating to Pell were blanked out so as not to jeopardise his criminal case.

However, a new criminal investigation may place the release of the commission report in doubt. The redacted section examines the actions of Catholic church authorities in Ballarat, including at the time when Pell was a priest in the region.

Pell was cross-examined by the commission in 2016 on what he knew about the notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, who was a friend of Pell's at the time in Ballarat. Pell responded: "It was a sad story and of not much interest to me. I had no reason to turn my mind to the evils Ridsdale had perpetrated."

Pell shared a house with Ridsdale and sat on a committee of priests who made decisions to move Ridsdale from parish to parish.

The comment to the commission from Pell drew the ire of Bolt at the time, who said it revealed Pell was lying about or "dangerously indifferent" to the abuse occurring around him.

"Whether or not he directly knew - and the case against him is circumstantial - did he actually do what was necessary for any moral person and pursue the interests of the children being abused?" Bolt told Sky News at the time. "And on that ground I think the case against him is very damning."

But he rowed back on those comments just one day later, stating: "I feel embarrassed because I think I've joined the pack attacking Pell.

"What he [Pell] seems to have said, meant to say, was that he had no reason to look at what was happening in that parish of Inglewood by Gerald Ridsdale and as a result, those things slipped his mind."

Bolt secured an exclusive interview with Pell in 2016 after Pell concluded giving evidence to the commission.

The Catholic archdiocese of Sydney also confirmed on Tuesday that NSW Police's Counter-Terrorism Squad visited Cardinal Pell at Good Shepherd Seminary in
Homebush in relation to security threats.
The NSW police squad's visit to the seminary is unrelated to any police investigation involving Cardinal Pell, the archdiocese said.

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Police investigating George Pell over fresh child sexual abuse allegation - report

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Cardinal George Pell is being investigated by police over a new allegation of child sexual abuse, according to News Corp reports. Pell was released from jail last Tuesday after the high court acquitted him on five historical child sexual abuse charges. Pell, 78, spent more than 400 days in jail after being convicted by a jury in December 2018.

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After being received in private audience by Pope Francis last Monday, Cardinal George Pell concluded an unforgettable week by celebrating his first public Mass in Rome since his return to the Vatican on Sept. 30.

Cardinal Pell left the Vatican in July 2017 to face trial in Australia, where he was subsequently convicted and imprisoned for over 400 days on historical charges of the sexual abuse of minors, before finally being totally acquitted by the country's High Court last April.

He celebrated Mass in the chapel of Domus Australia, a boutique four-star guesthouse for Australian pilgrims, refurbished on the site of a former monastery near the Porta Pia, which he was mainly responsible for establishing in 2010 and which Benedict XVI blessed.

Cardinal Pell celebrated the Mass on the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Mother Mary MacKillop, an Australian religious sister who was born in Melbourne in 1842 and is the country's first saint. She founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, which established schools and welfare institutions, especially for the education of the rural poor throughout Australia and New Zealand. She was canonized by Benedict XVI on Oct. 17, 2010.

Cardinal George Pell concluded an unforgettable week by celebrating his first public Mass in Rome since his return to the Vatican on Sept. 30.

In his homily, the cardinal recalled that Mother MacKillop's canonization was warmly welcomed throughout Australia, not only by Catholics but also by many who were not of the Catholic faith. While he spoke about the situation the church is facing today in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, he made no reference to his ordeal over these past three years. A person present at the celebration, who wished to remain anonymous, told America that the cardinal's face was marked by a peace and joy that revealed his inner feelings of vindication.

The celebration was Cardinal Pell's first public Mass in the eternal city since June 29, 2017, when that faculty was removed from him following his being charged for the sexual abuse of minors by the Victoria police in Australia. He protested his innocence then and, with the permission of Pope Francis, left his senior Vatican post as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy and returned to Australia to face trial and clear his name. He returned to Rome on Sept. 30.

Today's celebration crowned a memorable week that began last Monday, Oct. 12, when Pope Francis received Cardinal Pell in the private library of the Vatican's apostolic palace and thanked him for his "witness" of steadfast faith over these past three years as he sought to affirm his innocence.

The Mass was hosted by Domus Australia and its rector, Msgr. John Boyle, with organizational support from the Australian embassy and its new ambassador, Chiara Porro.

The congregation of some 45 persons, in attendance by invitation only from the Australian Embassy and limited in number due to Covid-19 restrictions, included the former Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, a friend and strong defender of the cardinal who happened to be in town on other business, and the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, and her husband, Newt. Also present were the rectors of the Venerable English College, Msgr. Philip Whitmore, and of the Beda College, Canon Philip Gillespie, and the Rev. Robert McCulloch, an Australian friend of the cardinal and the procurator general of the Columban Fathers, who has spent much of his life in Pakistan.

A prayer was said during Mass for the late Australian ambassador to the Holy See, Tim Fischer, a close friend of the cardinal who headed the country's diplomatic mission at the time of the canonization of Mother Mary MacKillop.

At the end of Mass, Ambassador Porro thanked the cardinal for the celebration. Recalling the extraordinary commitment of St. Mary MacKillop in responding to the need for education of so many in her day, especially among the poor, she highlighted the pressing need to give attention to the education of the millions of young poor people in our own day, especially during this time of pandemic and economic crisis.

After the celebration, the cardinal greeted each of those present at the Mass. He is expected to stay in Rome at least until his 80th birthday on June 8, 2021, and possibly much longer.
Correction, Oct. 18, 2020: The original article stated incorrectly that the Mass was organized by the Australian embassy. Domus Australia organized the event.

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Cardinal Pell, acquitted of sex abuse charges, celebrates first public Mass since returning to Rome

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After being received in private audience by Pope Francis last Monday, Cardinal George Pell concluded an unforgettable week by celebrating his first public Mass in Rome since his return to the Vatican on Sept. 30.

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George Pell | Australia news | The Guardian

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Pope meets George Pell for first time since cardinal's abuse acquittal

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George Pell's child sex abuse convictions have been quashed by the High Court. So what happens now?

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George Pell's child sex abuse convictions have been quashed by the High Court. So what happens now?

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Cardinal George Pell returned to Rome from Australia on Wednesday for the first time since being jailed - and then acquitted - on child sexual abuse charges.

The 79-year-old, wearing a face mask, briefly lifted his hand towards a crowd of waiting journalists at Rome's Fiumicino airport, but said nothing before climbing into a waiting car.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said there was "currently no meeting planned" between the cleric and Pope Francis, who is currently dealing with a financial scandal at the Vatican.

But experts on the workings of the Vatican said a reunion between the head of the Roman Catholic church and the man he once appointed as his trusted anti-corruption tsar was "a given".

La Repubblica said: "He will meet Francis. He'll do it as a free man," adding: "It will be Pell's chance for a redress, after many in the Vatican rejoiced at his removal".

The news that Pell was flying from Sydney to Rome on Tuesday generated criticism online with people questioning why the Australian government - which has banned its citizens from leaving the country as a Covid-19 precaution - granted him an exemption.

But the home affairs department made clear there were six categories of people who are automatically exempt from the general ban and don't need to seek special permission to leave Australia. They include anyone "travelling on official government business".

Guardian Australia understands Pell is travelling to Rome for reasons related to official Vatican government business so did not need an exemption.

It comes five months after a damning report was delivered by Australia's child sexual abuse royal commission, which found Pell to be aware of children being sexually abused within the Catholic church but failed to adequately act to prevent or stop it.

At their last face-to-face meeting, on 27 June 2017, Francis gave Pell an extended period of leave to return to Australia and clear his name, amid accusations he molested two choirboys in the 1990s.

Pell was previously the third most senior Catholic in the world when he was prefect of the Vatican's secretariat for the economy, effectively the financial controller of the church.

He was convicted in December 2018 of sexually abusing the choirboys while he was the archbishop of Melbourne. He strenuously denied the charges and the high court in Australia overturned his conviction in April this year after hearing his second appeal.

The former Vatican treasurer had in the meantime spent more than a year in prison.

While he was not removed from this position after returning to Australia in 2017 to face child sexual abuses, his term was not renewed after it expired in February 2019. Pell stood aside from the role while he faced the charges against him.

A polarising figure in the Vatican, Pell is unlikely to get his Vatican job back.

But "he will ask to have his honour restored", Vatican expert for the Fatto Quotidiano daily, Franceso Antonio Grana, said.

The cardinal's return to Rome comes just a few days after a known Vatican rival was ousted in a financial scandal.

Influential Italian cardinal Angelo Becciu, 72, was forced to resign by the pope last week following accusations of siphoning funds to help his siblings. Speaking to a press conference in Rome, Becciu told reporters: "I have not enriched my family. "I hope the pope realises that it is all a misunderstanding."

It was not immediately clear whether the timing of Pell's return was significant, or whether he plans to stay at the Vatican.

He had told journalists in Australia shortly after his release from prison that he would at some point return to Rome to pack up his apartment.

A spokesman said his trip to Rome was a "private visit".

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

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George Pell returns to Rome after acquittal on child abuse charges

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Cardinal George Pell returned to Rome from Australia on Wednesday for the first time since being jailed - and then acquitted - on child sexual abuse charges. The 79-year-old, wearing a face mask, briefly lifted his hand towards a crowd of waiting journalists at Rome's Fiumicino airport, but said nothing before climbing into a waiting car.

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A royal commission report has found that George Pell was aware of child abuse by the clergy in the early 1970s.

Newly released information from findings made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse in December 2017 show that Cardinal Pell knew about the abuse in 1973 and had considered measures of avoiding situations that "might provoke gossip about it".

The findings were released after the High Court last month overturned Cardinal Pell's child abuse convictions.

"We are satisfied that in 1973 Father Pell turned his mind to the prudence of (Gerald) Ridsdale taking boys on overnight camps," according to the report, tabled in the Senate on Thursday morning.

"The most likely reason for this, as Cardinal Pell acknowledged, was the possibility that if priests were one on one with a child then they could sexually abuse a child or at least provoke gossip about such a prospect.

"By this time (1973) child sexual abuse was on his radar, in relation to not only Monsignor (John) Day but also Ridsdale.

"We are also satisfied that by 1973, Cardinal Pell was not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy, but that he had also considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it".

A statement issued by spokeswoman Katrina Lee on behalf of Pell today said the Cardinal was "surprised" by some of the views of the Royal Commission about his actions.

"These views are not supported by evidence," the statement read.

"He is especially surprised by the statements in the report about the earlier transfers of Gerald Ridsdale discussed by the Ballarat Diocesan Consultors in 1977 and 82.

"The Consultors who gave evidence on the meetings in 1977 and 1982 either said they did not learn of Ridsdale's offending against children until much later or they had no recollection of what was discussed. None said they were made aware of Ridsdale's offending at these meetings.

"The then Fr Pell left the Diocese of Ballarat and therefore his position as a consultor at the end of 1984. As an Auxiliary Bishop in Melbourne 1987-96, Bishop Pell met with a delegation from Doveton Parish in 1989 which did not mention sexual assaults and did not ask for Searson's removal.

"Archbishop Pell placed Fr Searson on administrative leave in March 1997 and removed him from the parish on 15 May 1997."

The former Vatican treasurer and Melbourne and Sydney archbishop was released from a Victorian prison on April 7 after the High Court overturned his five abuse convictions.

The royal commission's separate reports into the Catholic Church's response to abuse complaints and allegations in the Melbourne archdiocese and Victoria's Ballarat diocese were released in December 2017.

Both had sections blacked out to avoid prejudicing any current or future prosecutions, including the abuse case against Cardinal Pell.

The report, which contains more than 100 pages, shows Cardinal Pell was aware of children being sexually abused within the Archdiocese of Ballarat.

The findings do not relate to any abuse allegations against Cardinal Pell himself but rather his knowledge of complaints against paedophile priests and Christian Brothers.

The papers also reveal Pell knew Ridsdale was moved because he had sexually abused children and should have done more about an unstable priest in another Victorian parish.

The child abuse royal commission rejected Cardinal Pell's evidence that he was deceived and lied to by Catholic Church officials about Ridsdale and Melbourne parish priest Peter Searson.

Ridsdale is in prison after committing more than 130 offences against children as young as four between the 1960s and 1980s.

Pell has always denied knowing of any child abuse occurring in Ballarat while he worked there as a priest.

"We are satisfied that Cardinal Pell's evidence as to the reasons that the CEO deceived him was implausible," the report read.

"We do not accept that Bishop Pell was deceived, intentionally or otherwise".

Pell previously told the commission that investigating Searson was not his responsibility and said he did not have enough information to act after being handed a handed a list of complaints about Searson in 1989.

The commission found "these matters, in combination with the prior allegation of sexual misconduct, ought to have indicated to Bishop Pell that Father Searson needed to be stood down".

Searson passed away in 2009 before facing any charges against him.

Cardinal Pell was a priest in Ballarat between 1973 and 1984, overseeing the diocese's schools and occasionally acting as an adviser to the bishop.

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Royal Commission findings into Pell's handing of sex abuse released

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A royal commission report has found that George Pell was aware of child abuse by the clergy in the early 1970s. Newly released information from findings made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse in December 2017 show that Cardinal Pell knew about the abuse in 1973 and had considered measures of avoiding situations that "might provoke gossip about it".