Judiciary
AN Australian court has rejected a bid to have the conviction of George Pell on child sex abuse charges overturned, leaving the disgraced cardinal to continue serving a six-year prison sentence while his lawyers consider appealing to the High Court.
Three judges at the Court of Appeal in Melbourne handed down a majority two-to-one decision on Wednesday rejecting Pell’s appeal and upholding the conviction.
“By majority (2 to 1), the Court of Appeal has dismissed Cardinal George Pell’s appeal against his conviction for the commission of sexual offences,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Ferguson said.
“He will continue to serve his sentence of 6 year’s imprisonment.”
Pell, 78, has already been in prison for five months. He will be eligible for parole only in Oct. 2022. “Cardinal Pell is obviously disappointed with the decision today,” a spokesperson for Pell said in a statement after the verdict.
“However his legal team will thoroughly examine the judgement in order to determine a special leave application to the High Court” – the highest court in the Australian judicial system.
Pells lawyers will have to file the application within 28 days.
“While noting the 2-1 split decision, Cardinal Pell maintains his innocence,” the statement said, thanking “his many supporters.”
Ferguson, along with Court of Appeal Justice Chris Maxwell, granted leave to appeal Pell’s application but rejected the appeal, while Justice Mark Weinberg dissented and said that he would have ordered Pell be acquitted.
“To (Weinberg’s) mind, there is a significant possibility that the Cardinal may not have committed the offences,” Ferguson said.
Pell, wearing a black suit and clerical collar, sat emotionless and stone-faced in the dock, staring at the judges when the decision was announced.
He looked down after he heard their decision.
There were a few gasps, while one woman sobbed quietly.
The only other noise in the hushed atmosphere of the near-silent courtroom was the sound of journalists typing the news into their keyboards.
Outside the court, people were heard cheering when they heard the judges had decided to quash the appeal.
Pell, the former Vatican treasurer and one-time close adviser to Pope Francis, was convicted in December for sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral in the mid-1990s.
An earlier trial had been dismissed in September because the jury could not reach a verdict.
One of the two victims, identified by the court as only JJ, who gave evidence at trial, said on Wednesday that he was “relieved at the decision” of the court and that process had been “stressful”.
Ferguson said that the victim “came across as someone who was telling the truth” throughout the evidence-giving during the trial.
“He did not seek to embellish his evidence or tailor it in a manner favourable to the prosecution,” Ferguson said, while delivering the summary of their decision which was broadcast live on television.
According to Ferguson, the entire judgement is more than 300 pages long and will be made public later on Wednesday.
He noted that Pell’s case “has divided the community”.
In recent years, the Roman Catholic church has been embroiled in a global child sexual abuse scandal, but Pell is the highest-ranking Vatican figure to be convicted of and jailed for the crimes.
The Vatican has already banned Pell from public ministry or having contact with children and has launched its own investigation into his convictions.
He is likely to be defrocked if the appeal fails.
There was no immediate reaction from the Vatican.
Melbourne’s Archbishop Peter Comensoli in a statement urged everyone to respect the court’s decision to reject the appeal.
“I respectfully receive the court’s decision and I encourage everyone to do the same.
“That there have been two trials and now today’s decision in the Court of Appeal, the complexity of the search for the truth in this matter has tested many and may very well continue to do so,” he said.
Comensoli said last week that he had visited Pell in jail two months earlier and had found him to be “spiritually strong”.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that Pell will be stripped of his Companion of the Order of Australia honour – the highest category – in 2005.
“My sympathies are with the victims of child sexual abuse not just on this day but on every single day,” Morrison said.
Child sexual abuse advocate Chrissie Foster said the decision on Wednesday was “an outstanding example of justice.
“It’s a rare thing and so many victims will be encouraged and propped up by this.
“It’s just astounding – we’re not used to this,” she told reporters outside the court.
Stephen Woods, a child sex abuse survivor from Pell’s hometown of Ballarat, said the “victims now believe that we can get incredible success in the courts.
“He’s so symbolic, that power has to be held accountable and he has been,” Woods asserted. (dpa/NAN)
– Aug. 21, 2019 @ 8:45 GMT |
Tags: Pell considers new appeal as court quashes bid to overturn conviction
