MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
Associated Press
Sept. 17, 2019
The most senior Catholic to be found guilty of sexually abusing children lodged an appeal in Australia’s highest court on Tuesday against his convictions in the molestation of two choirboys in a cathedral more than two decades ago.
The High Court registry confirmed that Cardinal George Pell had submitted a 12-page application for the seven judges to consider hearing his appeal.
A unanimous Victoria state County Court jury in December found Pope Francis’ former finance minister guilty of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the late 1990s.
The Victoria Court of Appeal last month rejected his appeal in a 2-1 ruling.
Pell, 78, was sentenced to six years in prison in March and is no longer a member of Francis’ Council of Cardinals or a Vatican official.
The High Court is Pell’s final chance to overturn his convictions, but there is no guarantee that Australia’s final arbiter will hear his appeal. The court only agrees to hear around one in 10 of the appeals that are submitted.
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