Australia’s highest court has ordered to free Cardinal George Pell and overturned his conviction for child abuse. George, the former treasurer of the Vatican, is also the senior-most catholic figure ever jailed on any crime.
A jury found him guilty in 2018 for abusing two children in the 1990s. But on Tuesday, the court not only quashed the jury’s verdict, bringing an end to his six-year term in jail. The Catholic cleric has consistently denied any wrongdoings since the police charged him in June 2017.
The full bench of seven judges ruled unanimously in George Pell’s favor. It maintained that the jury had not considered all the evidence provided at the trail.
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It was the last legal challenge of the former senior advisor of the pope after his conviction was withheld by a lower court in 2019. After the Tuesday’s verdict, he reissued a statement asserting his innocence, Cardinal Pell’s statement said “I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice,”
The former treasurer of the Vatican has served a total of 400 days in prison and cannot be retried for on the charges. George was released from the Victoria’s Barwon Prison soon after the court’s verdict was announced.
Abuse in the 1990s
In 2018, the jury found him guilty of abusing two minors of age 13; they were part of the choir. The court found out that the boys were abused in private rooms of St Patrick’s Cathedral in the 1990s when George Pell was the archbishop of Melbourne.
He was convicted for four indecent acts and one count of sexual penetration. During the trial, the court recorded the testimonies from the last surviving victim. Other witnesses presented alibis and evidence.
Last year, he challenged the verdict in the Victoria’s Court of Appeal, in which three judges upheld the verdict by 2-1 majority. However, on Tuesday, the cardinal argues that the past trial was heavily focused on the evidence of the alleged victim and paid less attention to the other evidence.
The Australian high court agreed with George’s lawyer. The court said in the summary of the judgment, “The jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s guilt”.
Usually, during the critical days of Cardinal trials, there had been scrums outside the court, and the police had to make special arrangements to fend of angry campaigners. But on Tuesday hearing, the most important day of all nobody was there, primarily because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
Reactions on the Judgment
The deceased father’s boy was in shock by the judgment. He said that he no longer has any belief in the criminal justice system of the country.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Pell said the injustice has been remedied and added that he holds no ill will against the accusers. Prime Minister Morrison said, “The High Court has made its decision, and that must be respected.”
Morrison added that the thoughts are with the victims of abuse for him, and these discussions bring back great hurt.
Will he return as treasurer of the Vatican?
Pope Francis has refrained from stripping the Cardinal from clerical titles while all the legal avenues are not exhausted. However, it remains unclear that what lies ahead for him. Cardinal Pell’s earlier position was the treasurer of the Vatican.
Before the trial started, George had initiated a series of reforms and presented the Vatican finances for open scrutiny. This has never been done before, and for this, the cardinal has faced resistance from the people with vested interests within the church.
