Australia’s High Court Hears Appeal of Cardinal Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse

Australia’s High Court opened a two-day hearing Wednesday on Cardinal George Pell’s last-ditch appeal of his convictions on sexually assaulting two teenage choirboys.The 78-year-old Pell was convicted in December 2018 on charges that he molested the boys in Melbourne’s St. Patrick Cathedral in 1996 while serving as archbishop of the Melbourne diocese.  He was sentenced exactly one year ago this month to six years in prison.  Pell’s lawyers went to the High Court after the Victoria Court of Appeals rejected his appeal last August by a vote of 2-1 vote.  Defense attorney Bret Walker is arguing that it was implausible that the alleged assault even happened because it supposedly took place in a busy area of the crowded cathedral, unlike other sexual assault cases.  Walker is also arguing that the Victoria appeals court incorrectly put the burden of proof on Pell to prove his innocence, rather than place it on the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.The seven-member High Court could decide to either accept or reject Pell’s appeal, or send it back down to the Victoria Court of Appeals.  Pell is the the highest-ranking Catholic official convicted in connection with the global child sexual abuse scandal that has embroiled the church for three decades.  At the time of his conviction, he had taken a leave of absence as a member of the Vatican’s Council of Cardinals, who serve as Pope Francis’s cabinet and inner circle of advisers.  He had also served as the Vatican’s treasurer and economic minister.  Only one of the alleged victims came forward to tell authorities what happened; the other died in 2014 of a drug overdose having never spoken of the alleged assault. A lawyer for the father of the late choirboy says if the High Court rules in Pell’s favor and allows him “to walk free from jail, our client says he will lose all faith in our legal system.”
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