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AUSTRALIA: Court convicts Cardinal Pell of child sex abuse, sends him back to jail

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Court in Australia finds Cardinal guilty of sexual offences

Embattled Catholic Cardinal, George Pell, has been convicted of child sex abuse by an Australian court which also sent him back to jail on Wednesday, where he will continue his six-year sentence.

The conviction of Cardinal Pell comes after the Australian court rejected his landmark appeal against convictions for child sex abuse on two 13-year old choir boys at a Melbourne cathedral in the year 1990.

In her ruling, Chief Justice Anne Ferguson said that Pell would be eligible for parole in three years and eight months, although the cardinal could yet ask Australia’s High Court to hear a further appeal.

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“For many survivors, a conviction being upheld against a high-profile, once-powerful perpetrator underlines faith in the justice process and the possibility of speaking out,” said Pam Stavropoulos of Australia’s Blue Knot Foundation, a child victims’ group.

Cardinal Pell, who was once a former top aide of Pope Francis, now becomes the world’s most senior Catholic official convicted of child sex abuse.

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