Pell, 77, has said he will appeal against the conviction, for which he will be sentenced on Wednesday. The Vatican said the disgraced prelate had “reiterated his innocence and has the right to defend himself to the last degree”. Pell’s disgrace had caused a “deep, deep wound to the entire Catholic church”, said Robert Mickens, the Rome-based editor of the English-language edition of the Catholic daily newspaper La Croix. Play Video 2:47 George Pell: David Marr on the cardinal's rise and fall – video explainer“It has to be stated that the hierarchy has never done anything on its own,” he added. Less than two weeks ago, another prominent figure in the church, the former cardinal and archbishop Theodore McCarrick, was defrocked after the Vatican found him guilty of sexual abuse.

Source: The Guardian February 26, 2019 12:28 UTC