Pope Francis dumps Cardinal George Pell as Vatican treasurer and bans him from work with children, after ‘painful’ conviction for molesting choirboys
- Case risks further staining pontiff’s already spotty record on cracking down on credibly accused clergy
- Vatican says Pell maintains his innocence and has right to defend himself in appeal
The Vatican on Tuesday described as “painful” the news of the conviction in Australia of Cardinal George Pell, one of Pope Francis’ most trusted aides and advisers, for molesting two choirboys in the 1990s, but insisted the prelate has the right to defend himself until the appeals process is completed.
Acting Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti on Tuesday read a brief statement but took no questions about the conviction, which was delivered unanimously in December and appealed by Pell last week.
Gosotti later tweeted that Pell had also been removed as “Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy”, a position that amounted to treasurer of the Vatican, and its third most powerful position.
Due to a court order, news of the verdict could not be published until Tuesday. Pell, 77, risks a maximum prison term of 50 years.
The conviction of Pell, who had been appointed by Francis to be the Vatican’s treasurer, risks further staining the pontiff’s already spotty record on cracking down on credibly accused clergy and over transparency on church handling of high-profile cases.