George Pell, an Australian cardinal who was the Vatican’s chief financial officer and an adviser to Pope Francis, was sentenced to six years in prison on March 13, for molesting two boys after Sunday Mass in 1996.
The cardinal was convicted on five counts in December, making him the most senior Catholic official — and the first bishop — to be found guilty in a criminal court for sexually abusing minors, according to BishopAccountability.org, which tracks cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
Cardinal Pell, who stood stone-faced with lips pursed when his sentence was read aloud, will not be eligible for parole for three years and eight months.
“I would characterize these breaches and abuses as grave,” the chief judge in the case, Peter Kidd, said during the sentencing. Speaking directly to Cardinal Pell, he added: “Your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance.”
The sentence, falling far short of the 50-year maximum, will be closely scrutinized around the world. The hearing was broadcast live from the courtroom in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, where Cardinal Pell first rose to prominence as an archbishop.
It brings to a close two years of legal jockeying over evidence and accusations of sexual abuse, most of which were kept from public view by Australia’s legal system until recently. And for Catholics all over the world, it amounts to the toppling of a Vatican giant, a cleric of enormous power who will now reside behind bars.
“The importance of this case cannot be overstated,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org. “It will set a precedent.”
[In the wake of the Pell case, the Catholic Church in Australia is demoralized and losing members.]
Victims of sexual abuse and advocates who attended the sentencing left with mixed feelings. Some called it a welcome if small dose of justice, while others said the sentence was far too lenient.
“Why should we take into account his age?” said Phil Nagle, an advocate for abuse victims from Ballarat, Cardinal Pell’s hometown. “He’s ruined lives.”
Cardinal Pell may also face renewed scrutiny for how he handled cases of abuse when he was archbishop.
But on Wednesday, Judge Kidd implored the public to remember that Cardinal Pell was being sentenced only for the crimes he committed in 1996. Survivors outside the courtroom said they hoped it would lead to greater accountability. “A lot of them don’t get sentenced,” said David Emery, a 64-year-old survivor.
Cardinal Pell’s sentence, he added, was “going to leave a mark.”
Source: NY Times
