Pope Francis, on Tuesday, appeared to say that his former top adviser, Cardinal George Pell, had been unjustly convicted of sexual abuse allegations, hours after Australia’s highest court overturned a decision sentencing Pell to six years in prison.
“I would like to pray today for all the people who suffer an unjust sentence because of aggressive persistence against them,” Francis said during mass at his residence in Rome, in a prayer many interpreted as a reference to Pell.
Pell, who was once the top conservative cardinal in the Vatican, served as Francis’s finance minister until the pope removed him from the role in 2018 during his trial which attracted intense media scrutiny. At the time, the Vatican said it would not take any further action on Pell until the Australian courts had made their final decision.
Pell was convicted by an appeals court in 2019 for sexually abusing two choirboys in the sacristy of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne after a mass. Pell denied the claims, which dated from 1996, and his defense said that he would not have had time to commit them in the circumstances described. Australia’s High Court agreed, and the convictions were overturned on the basis of “reasonable doubt.”
The acquittal, delivered in a nearly empty courtroom because of the coronavirus pandemic, called for Pell to be released from prison immediately. Pell responded to the decision in a statement.
“My trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the Church,” he said. “The point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not.”
The Vatican also released a statement praising the court for its decision.
“Entrusting his case to the court’s justice, Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence, and has waited for the truth to be ascertained,” the Vatican said. “At the same time, the Holy See reaffirms its commitment to preventing and pursuing all cases of abuse against minors.”
Pell became known for his leadership in Australia’s sexual abuse crisis, as well as for his conservative stances on climate change, abortion, and gay marriage.
