AUSTRALIA
10 daily
February 26, 2019
By Josh Butler
It is a “happy” day for abuse survivors, and the conviction of George Pell on child sex charges is hoped to lead to wholesale change at the highest levels of the Catholic Church.
In December 2018, a Melbourne jury found Pell guilty of five charges — one of sexually penetrating a child under the age of 16 and four of committing an indecent act.
“There’s relief for sure, but I do believe people are happy,” Steven Spaner, coordinator for advocacy group SNAP — Survivors Networks of those Abused by Priests — told 10 daily.
Other survivors have spoken of being “stunned” at the news, while a former priest said the verdict would be “catastrophic” and like a “tsunami” for the church.
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