Cardinal Pell sentenced for sexual assault on minors: forbidden ministry exercise

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• Pedophilia, the Australian court authorizes the notes on Cardinal Pell. He: "It is fury"
• Pedophilia, the archbishop of Brisbane under investigation for coverage
• Pedophilia. Australian police in Rome to interrogate Cardinal Pell

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Cardinal Pell, a former Vatican treasurer, was sentenced in Australia for sexual violence against children. The high prelate was accused of abusing two choir boys in the sacristy of Saint Patrick's cathedral in the 1990s, when he was archbishop of Malbourne. Pell, 77, was convicted last December but the court has so far banned the media from publishing the outcome of the sentence. However, the news was leaked but was not officially confirmed. Now it seems inevitable for Pell, suspended by Pope Francis, the definitive departure from Rome. In December, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke announced his dismissal from C9, the council of nine cardinals that supports Francis in the government of the Church. Pell was ordained a priest in Rome in 1966, before returning to Australia in 1971. He was appointed archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, then of Sydney in 2001. In 2014 he was chosen by Bergoglio to give more transparency to Vatican finances. Pell had been forced to return to Australia two years ago for the trial. The Australian cardinal is the highest Vatican prelate convicted of pedophilia.

The Pope gives Pell a ministry and contact with minors
"To guarantee the course of justice, the Holy Father confirmed the precautionary measures already in place against Cardinal George Pell from the local ordinary to the return of Cardinal Pell to Australia. That is to say that, pending the definitive verification of the facts, the Cardinal Pell is forbidden as a precautionary measure from the public exercise of the ministry and, as a rule, contact in any way and form with minors ". The spokesman Alessandro Gisotti made it known, underlining that "the Holy See joins what the President of the Australian Bishops' Conference declared in acknowledging the sentence of condemnation in the first degree against Cardinal George Pell". It is said, the interim director of the Holy See Press Office, "of a painful news that, we are well aware, has shocked many people, not only in Australia. As already stated on other occasions, we reiterate the utmost respect for the Australian judicial authorities ". "In the name of this respect - concluded Gisotti - we now await the outcome of the appeal process, recalling that Cardinal Pell reiterated his innocence and has the right to defend himself to the last degree. Waiting for the final judgment, we join the Australian bishops in praying for all victims of abuse, reiterating our commitment to do everything possible so that the Church is a safe home for everyone, especially for children and the most vulnerable ".

Pell is no longer the treasurer of the Holy See. The spokesperson Gisotti announced it via Twitter. "I can confirm that George Pell is no longer the prefect of the Secretariat for the economy," Gisotti tweeted. Pell held the third highest position in the Vatican and was appointed treasurer by Pope Francis in 2014 to bring transparency to the finances of the Church.