Australian Cardinal Pell jailed for child abuse

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This 25 February 2019 video says about itself:

Damning evidence against Cardinal George Pell | 60 Minutes Australia

In 2015, 60 Minutes presented damning new evidence against Pell. He has always argued his intervention on behalf of child abuse victims was innovative, independent and compassionate. But now, secret documents reveal it as a cynical smokescreen designed to protect the Catholic Church at all costs.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

The Australian cardinal George Pell, who is convicted of sexual abuse, must remain in prison until the day he will hear his sentence. That is in two weeks. Pell was free on bail until now.

It is clear to the court that the now 77-year-old Pell abused two 13-year-old altar boys in the Melbourne Cathedral in 1996. Pell was archbishop there. …

[Pell‘s] lawyer Richter tried to downplay the abuse. He said that the sex was not really that much and that the victim “did not participate actively”. Grabbing one of the boys in the crotch “lasted only a few seconds”.

“It will be clear to you that I have a problem with that”, the judge replied. He called the abuse heartless and brutal. …

Cardinal Pell was one of the most powerful people in the Vatican. He was appointed treasurer in 2014 and went on leave in 2017. It is the first time that such a high level cleric of the Catholic Church has been found guilty of child abuse.

A spokesperson tweeted yesterday that George Pell is no longer working for the Vatican.

One of the two victims died of an overdose of heroin in 2014 at the age of 31. The other one stated that the abuse caused shame, loneliness and depression.

Pell may get a maximum of fifty years in prison for a total of five charges. The cardinal is expected to appeal after the verdict.

From the BBC, 6 March 2019:

Cardinal George Pell is awaiting sentencing for sexually abusing two boys in 1996. The verdict, which he is appealing against, has stunned and divided Australia in the past week.

It has sparked strong reactions from the cardinal’s most prominent supporters, some of whom have cast doubt on his conviction in a wider attack on Australia’s legal system.

The largely conservative backlash features some of Australia’s most prominent media figures, a university vice-chancellor and a leading Jesuit academic, among others.

Former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott also continue to maintain their public support for the ex-Vatican treasurer.

But critics of the backlash have raised concerns about its broader impact on abuse victims.