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Agence France-Presse

Pope Francis has removed two prominent cardinals from his inner circle months after they were tainted by paedophile scandals and ahead of a church-wide meeting on the “protection of minors” next year.
Australian Cardinal George Pell and Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz were both removed from the so-called C9 Council of Cardinals, an international advice body set up by Francis himself, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

The last time the C9 met in September, Errazuriz, who is accused of ignoring reports of abuse in Chile, and Pell, who faces charges in Australia related to historical child sexual offences, were both absent, and the council said it was considering restructuring.
Despite being removed from the C9, 77-year-old Pell remains in charge of Vatican finances, the third most powerful position in the Roman Catholic Church.
The church has been hit by a series of child abuse scandals in recent years, with widespread allegations of cover-ups, including against the pope himself.

The pope clarified the composition of the C9 ahead of a February meeting with leaders of bishops’ conferences from around the world dealing with the “protection of minors”, to which victims of priest sex abuse have been invited.
The meeting of bishops from around the world will also have to deal with some Asian and African bishops’ conferences who say they are not concerned by the “Western” abuse problem.
“February’s meeting can’t resolve all the problems, because there’s too much world diversity in the Church. The American [US] episcopacy is panicking, they want to be as radical [against sexual abuse] as possible, while Africans don’t want any measures taken,” said a source close to the pope.
“A code of silence has been our culture for too long, February’s meeting should mark a new beginning for bishops’ responsibility, or even for a new control system.”
Sex abuse in US churches is a stain on America’s human rights record
Allegations in August from a conservative archbishop that the pope had ignored abuse suspicions concerning a prominent US cardinal have triggered an internal investigation into Vatican archives ordered by Pope Francis.
They also confirmed a rift in the church between some ultra-conservative Catholics and a pope they see as a dangerous progressive interested in social issues to the detriment of church doctrine.
The church was also rocked in August by a devastating US report on child sex abuse which accused more than 300 “predator” priests of abusing more than 1,000 minors over seven decades in the state of Pennsylvania.
The commission set up by Francis has said that the fight against abuse must be a church priority and emphasised the importance of listening to victims.
Churches need to act on claims of abuse in Hong Kong
While Pell faces prosecution in Australia, he is also up for renewal in February as the Vatican’s finance chief.
Francis has in the past preferred to give the accused the presumption of innocence and has therefore not named anyone to replace Pell, despite a senior Vatican official saying this week that church expenses were growing “unacceptably”.
Chilean Cardinal Errazuriz appears at the very least to have given Francis bad advice. The pope’s mistaken defence of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for an old paedophile priest overshadowed his trip to the South American country in January and heaped embarrassment on the church.
Errazuriz, 85, met Francis last month and subsequently announced his ‘“withdrawal” from the C9.
A third cardinal, Democratic Republic of Congo’s Laurent Monsengwo, will also no longer attend C9 meetings, effectively reducing the body to a “C6”.
Monsengwo, 79, has for years played an important political as well as spiritual role in the war-torn African nation, but recently gave up his position as archbishop of Kinshasa.
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Australia

Pope removes scandal-hit Australian Cardinal George Pell from his inner circle

Cardinal George Pell is facing prosecution for historical child sexual offences. Photo: AFP

Pope Francis arrives for the weekly general audience in Paul VI hall on December 12, 2018 at the Vatican. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Cardinal George Pell gets into a car in Melbourne on December 11, 2018. - Pell is facing prosecution for historical child sexual offences. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

Papal aide Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, ordered to stand trial on sex charges

Australian Cardinal George Pell arrives at the Magistrates Court in Melbourne on Tuesday. Photo: AP

A woman holds up a placard as Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell leaves the court after making an appearance in court in Melbourne on May 1, 2018. Pell pleaded not guilty on May 1 after being ordered to stand trial on multiple historical sexual offence charges in Australia. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST

epa06703281 Australia's most senior Catholic Cardinal George Pell (L) arrives at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne, Australia, 01 May 2018. Magistrate Belinda Wallington will announce on 01 May whether Cardinal Pell will stand trial on some or all of the charges of sexual assault dating back more than 20 years. EPA-EFE/JOE CASTRO NO ARCHIVING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

News

Asia

Australasia

Pell and Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz were both removed from the so-called C9 Council of Cardinals in the wake of paedophile probes


Religion

Sexual harassment and assault