George Pell to retain titles while legal process continues - The Sydney Morning Herald

Rome: The Pope has let Cardinal George Pell retain his title and is not planning to take action until he has exhausted his rights of appeal, the Vatican said in a short statement issued on Tuesday.

But the Pope has reinforced a church order given to Pell in 2017 that he not practise his ministry in public, and must not come into voluntary contact with minors, as "precautionary measures".

A Vatican spokesman said Pell's guilty verdict on child abuse charges was "painful news which as we are well aware has shocked many people not only in Australia".

Cardinal George Pell leaves the County Court in Melbourne where was found guilty of historic sexual offences.Credit:Justin McManus

"We have the utmost respect for the Australia judicial authorities, and out of this respect we await the outcome of the appeals process," the spokesman said. "Cardinal Pell maintains his innocence and has a right to defend himself until the last stage of appeal."

The Holy See joined with Australian bishops in praying for all victims of abuse, and reaffirmed its "commitment to do everything possible so the church is a secure home for all – especially for children and the most vulnerable".

"The Holy Father has confirmed the precautionary measures which had been imposed by the local Ordinary [bishop] on Cardinal George Pell,
that is, while awaiting the definitive assessment of the facts, Cardinal George Pell is prohibited from exercising public ministry and from having any voluntary contact whatsoever with minors."

The cautious response from the Vatican is in contrast to the strong words of Pope Francis at the weekend summit on child abuse at the Vatican, where he said every abuse was an " atrocity" and "in people's justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God. It is our duty to listen attentively to this silent cry."

Ed Pentin, an experienced Vatican reporter for the National Catholic Register, said he expected Pell's lawyers had comunicated to the Vatican their confidence that they would win on appeal.

Pope Francis kneels in confession during a penitential liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.Credit:AP

"As the appeal hearing is fairly soon, it's possible the Pope will wait until that's over before deciding what to do," he said. "It's really hard to say though, as all of this is uncharted territory for the Vatican."

The Pope was spared the decision as to whether to remove Pell from his powerful post as the Vatican's chief financial officer and corruption watchdog, on the Secretariat for the Economy, as his five-year tenure naturally expired on Sunday. He had been on leave from the position for more than a year before then.

In October 2018 Pell was removed from the influential Council of Cardinals, or the Group of Nine (C-9) , an inner circle of the church’s most senior figures appointed in 2013 to advise the Pope on church reform.

That decision was announced a day after the guilty verdict on December 11, which was reported internationally despite a court suppression order in Australia.

Pell also held several other positions: he is a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation. At the time of writing it is unclear which he still holds.

A Vatican spokesman delivers a statement regarding Cardinal George Pell's conviction on historic child sex charges.Credit:Nick Miller

A Church source in Rome said Pell had been a "divisive" figure in the Vatican, and there would be some who welcomed the verdict.

"He’s a head kicker and his style put a lot of noses out of joint," the source said. "Italians in the Curia [the church bureaucracy] especially didn’t appreciate his comments on corruption that basically implied all Italians were crooks."

Pell's fate had been an unofficial topic of discussion among senior church leaders at the weekend's summit on child abuse, called by Pope Francis.

The source said, however, it was "not hugely discussed" as the verdict had become widely known in December. Instead, most were interested to find out what Pell had been doing since the verdict came down, what his plans were for an appeal, and his state of health.

Papal biographer George Weigel, a close friend of Pell's for decades, told the Register it was "inconceivable" to him that Pell had committed the crimes, and called the verdict "a travesty of justice".

"[The verdict] raises the most serious questions about whether any Catholic cleric accused of sexual abuse can receive a fair trial anywhere, and certainly in Australia," he said.

Nick Miller is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age