A jury in Melbourne has found Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic and the Vatican's economy minister, guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old boys in 1996.
The 77-year-old cleric was also found guilty of indecently assaulting one of the teens a month later. One of the victims, now 34, testified in court. The other died in 2014 of a heroin overdose. The jury reached its decision on Dec. 11, but the court ordered that the verdict and details of the case stay under wraps until now. Pell faces up to 50 years in prison, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'The way AI is discussed makes it seem like this is a necessary outcome'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
The New York Times plays defense after publishing leaked Mamdani college application detailsIN THE SPOTLIGHT The decision to publish details of Zohran Mamdani's Columbia University application has reignited simmering questions about sourcing and editorial guidelines
-
10 things you need to know today: January 24, 2024Daily Briefing Trump closes in on nomination with New Hampshire win over Haley, 'Oppenheimer' leads the 2024 Oscar nominations, and more
-
10 things you need to know today: January 23, 2024Daily Briefing Haley makes last stand in New Hampshire as Trump extends polling lead, justices side with US over Texas in border fight, and more
-
10 things you need to know today: January 22, 2024Daily Briefing DeSantis ends his presidential campaign and endorses Trump, the US and Arab allies push plan to end Gaza war, and more
-
10 things you need to know today: January 19, 2024Daily Briefing Congress averts a government shutdown, DOJ report cites failures in police response to Texas school shooting, and more
-
10 things you need to know today: January 18, 2024Daily Briefing Judge threatens to remove Trump from his defamation trial, medicine for hostages and Palestinians reach Gaza, and more
-
10 things you need to know today: January 17, 2024Daily Briefing The US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen a third time, Trump's second sex defamation trial begins, and more
-
10 things you need to know today: January 16, 2024Daily Briefing Trump reinforces his grip on GOP with Iowa landslide, a Houthi missile hits a US cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, and more
-
10 things you need to know today: January 12, 2024Daily Briefing Trump slams judge, New York attorney general as fraud trial ends, the US and Britain strike Houthi sites in Yemen, and more
