This news from ABC News site:
Cardinal George Pell will be released from prison after the country's highest court quashed his child sexual abuse convictions.
Key points:
The High Court of Australia has granted Cardinal Pell's application for special leave and acquitted him
The decision means Cardinal Pell will be released from Barwon Prison today
He had been serving a six-year jail sentence after he was convicted in 2018 of abusing two choirboys in the 1990s
The unanimous decision has been handed down less than a month after the High Court of Australia heard two days of intense legal arguments from the Cardinal's lawyers and Victorian prosecutors.
The High Court of Australia has granted Cardinal Pell's application for special leave and acquitted him
The decision means Cardinal Pell will be released from Barwon Prison today
He had been serving a six-year jail sentence after he was convicted in 2018 of abusing two choirboys in the 1990s
The unanimous decision has been handed down less than a month after the High Court of Australia heard two days of intense legal arguments from the Cardinal's lawyers and Victorian prosecutors.
The full bench's ruling was handed down by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel in an almost empty High Court registry in Brisbane, due to physical-distancing measures introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The public gallery, which can seat up to 16 people, only contained three journalists to hear Chief Justice Kiefel deliver the ruling at 10:00am.
"
Cardinal Pell, 78, had been serving a six-year jail sentence after he was convicted in 2018 of abusing two choirboys in the 1990s, when he was the archbishop of Melbourne.
"
Cardinal Pell, 78, had been serving a six-year jail sentence after he was convicted in 2018 of abusing two choirboys in the 1990s, when he was the archbishop of Melbourne.
He had been accused of committing the crimes after he found the boys swigging altar wine in the priests' sacristy after mass in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral.
A jury convicted him in 2018 — a decision that the Victorian Court of Appeal upheld in a two-to-one decision.
But his lawyers went to the High Court, arguing the appeal court failed to take proper account of evidence that cast doubt on his guilt.
Today the High Court handed down its decision, granting Cardinal Pell's application for special leave and unanimously acquitting him.
The decision means Cardinal Pell, who is Australia's most senior Catholic, will be released from Barwon Prison today.
It is not known where he will be taken or where he intends to stay.
In a statement released shortly after the decision was delivered, Cardinal Pell said he held "no ill will" towards his accuser:
"I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice.
This has been remedied today with the High Court's unanimous decision.
I look forward to reading the judgment and reasons for the decision in detail.
I hold no ill will toward my accuser, I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough.
However 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.
The point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not.
The only basis for long term healing is truth and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all.
A special thanks for all the prayers and thousands of letters of support.
I want to thank in particular my family for their love and support and what they had to go through; my small team of advisors; those who spoke up for me and suffered as a result; and all my friends and supporters here and overseas.
Also my deepest thanks and gratitude to my entire legal team for their unwavering resolve to see justice prevail, to throw light on manufactured obscurity and to reveal the truth.
Finally, I am aware of the current health crisis. I am praying for all those affected and our medical frontline personnel."
Cardinal George Pell
In its summary, the High Court stated the Victorian Court of Appeal judges "failed to engage with the question of whether there remained a reasonable possibility that the offending had not taken place".
The court found that other witnesses' evidence was "inconsistent with the complainant's account" and described how George Pell, then the archbishop of Melbourne, would greet parishioners on the cathedral steps, for up to 15 minutes after mass.
In a statement, Victoria Police said it respected the High Court's decision and would continue to provide support to the complainants involved in the case.
"Victoria Police remains committed to investigating sexual assault offences and providing justice for victims no matter how many years have passed," the statement said.
"We would also like to acknowledge the tireless work on this case by Taskforce Sano investigators over many years."
No comments:
Post a Comment