Reports of Pell guilty verdict emerge, despite gag order
By Ed Condon - Catholic New Agency

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Cardinal George Pell has been convicted by an Australian court on charges of sexual abuse of minors, according to media reports and CNA sources close to the cardinal.

A judicial gag order has restricted Australian media coverage of the trial since June.

Despite the gag order, a story published Dec. 11 on the Daily Beast website first reported that a unanimous verdict of guilty had been returned by a jury on charges that Pell sexually abused two altar servers in the late 1990s, while he was Archbishop of Melbourne.

The verdict reportedly followed three days of deliberations by the jury - the second to hear the case. An earlier hearing of the case is reported to have ended in early autumn with a mistrial, after jurors were unable to reach a verdict.

In October, two sources close to Cardinal Pell, members of neither his legal team nor the Catholic hierarchy in Australia, told CNA that the first hearing of the case had ended in a mistrial due to a jury stalemate. One source said that jury was deadlocked 10-2 in favor of Pell.

In remarks to CNA Dec. 12, the same sources independently confirmed this week's report that a guilty verdict had been reached.

The conviction has not yet been confirmed by the Australian judiciary, and the gag order on Australian media could remain in place for several months.

Pell will reportedly be sentenced in early 2019. He will not be incarcerated prior to his sentencing.

Citing deference to the gag order, the Vatican has declined to comment on reports of the guilty verdict.

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There is rot in the clerical ranks. That's for sure.

Am I correct in assuming the altar servers were boys? I failed to see that in the article?

Not necessarily, female altar servers have been permitted since the early '80s although local bishops have say on this. For example the diocese of Lincoln, NE does not allow females to be altar servers. Also even if a bishop of a particular diocese allows female servers, the pastor of any parish is not obliged to accept females. In other words, nobody, male or female has the right to become an altar server.

Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
1 Timothy 4:2-3 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ti.4.2-3.NIV

No one is forbidden to marry in the Catholic Church.

The disciples said to him, 'If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is advisable not to marry.'
But he replied, 'It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted.
There are eunuchs born so from their mother's womb, there are eunuchs made so by human agency and there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.
__Matthew 19:10-12

The Latin Rite of the Catholic Church currently chooses to draw its priest from those willing to be celibate "for the sake of the Kingdom." This is the current practice of the Church, not dogma.

While not an easy process, consecrated men and women in the Catholic Church can be laicized, remain in good standing in the Church and subsequently marry.

FAT SEXY said:

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Sorry to offend any Catholics on here, but man... From the outside looking in, Catholicism seems F*****

Story after story after story after story of this type of thing.

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As a Catholic, I agree. Mainstream Catholicism has basically been transformed into some new heretical faith. It was infiltrated by evil men 100 years ago and transformed from within

A solid recap from Whispers in the Loggia -

Down Under, The Verdict Is In... Just Don't Tell The Locals

Texaggie7nine said:

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Neon R said:

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FAT SEXY said:

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Sorry to offend any Catholics on here, but man... From the outside looking in, Catholicism seems F*****

Story after story after story after story of this type of thing.

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As a Catholic, I agree. Mainstream Catholicism has basically been transformed into some new heretical faith. It was infiltrated by evil men 100 years ago and transformed from within

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FIFY

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Thank you

George Cardinal Pell's abuse convictions overturned unanimously by Australia's High Court

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The High Court, ruling from Brisbane, ordered Pell's convictions be quashed and verdicts of acquittal be entered in their place, ending the most high profile case of alleged historical sex abuse to rock the Roman Catholic Church.

The seven judges of the High Court agreed unanimously that the jury in the cardinal's trial "ought to have entertained a doubt" about his guilt. Pell, who has maintained his innocence throughout the lengthy court process, cannot be retried on the charges.

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Some Vandalism on his church
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/melbourne-cathedral-vandalised-as-george-pell-leaves-city-after-first-night-of-freedom

Quad Dog said:

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Some Vandalism on his church
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/melbourne-cathedral-vandalised-as-george-pell-leaves-city-after-first-night-of-freedom

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It is not "his" church. It is the church he served when he was Archbishop of Melbourne. It is also the church in which the abuse in which he was initially convicted was said to have occurred..

From the posted article

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Premier Daniel Andrews has refused to comment on the High Court's decision, but today said people, particularly Catholics, had to face the fact there are people who moved predators across parishes.

"Others who knew that it was going on facilitated it and whether they're in jail or not, they'll have to go to their maker knowing they did those sorts of things," he told radio station Triple M.

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It was this type of sentiment that brought the conviction in the first place, not the evidence presented.

Your post is misinformed at the very least. Sin has been with man since the fall of Adam. No member of any religion or domination has been exempt. How is sex the cure for sexual deviance? If so why are many pediaphiles married?

Sin, yes.

Pederasty among a clergy of homosexual males? That's only been a thing for around 1800 years at most. Paying the legal/consequential costs to cover it up/tolerate it has also cost the RCC dearly.

Jesus never declared a royal priesthood of gay pederasts.

I thought pederasty was a hold over from Greek-Roman pagans. Now it has only been around 1800 years? If it existed before the Church and outside of the Church, how is a problem exclusive to the Church?

I am not trying to defend the sins of a small percentage priests. If you don't think this abomination hasn't invaded several protestants sects, as well than you have been deceived. Satan has attacked the holy Priesthood by bringing this plague in an attempt to ruin faith in Christ's Holy Church. So far he has been successful with a lot of people, but he will never prevail against the Church.

I do find the cover up of these sins to be abhorrent, but I will not cooperate with Satan and his attempts to tear down the priesthood or Holy Mother Church, nor should anyone else. The priesthood was started by Christ and true Christian practice needs priests for the sacafice on the altar. One of first chosen to be a priest was Judas. I ponder on this fact and realize that never did Christ promise that all priests and/or all christians would be sinless or perfect and scandal has been with the church since the beginning.

I do agree that a large part of problem with is with homosexuality. There seems to be a large correlation between homosexuals and pederasty. I do not believe any homosexual man should be a priest although I am fully aware that many are. I do however pray for all Holy Priests and for you may we all be lead to truth by Christ our Lord.

jrico2727 said:

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I thought pederasty was a hold over from Greek-Roman pagans. Now it has only been around 1800 years? If it existed before the Church and outside of the Church, how is a problem exclusive to the Church?

I am not trying to defend the sins of a small percentage priests. If you don't think this abomination hasn't invaded several protestants sects, as well than you have been deceived. Satan has attacked the holy Priesthood by bringing this plague in an attempt to ruin faith in Christ's Holy Church. So far he has been successful with a lot of people, but he will never prevail against the Church.

I do find the cover up of these sins to be abhorrent, but I will not cooperate with Satan and his attempts to tear down the priesthood or Holy Mother Church, nor should anyone else. The priesthood was started by Christ and true Christian practice needs priests for the sacrifice on the altar. One of first chosen to be a priest was Judas. I ponder on this fact and realize that never did Christ promise that all priests and/or all christians would be sinless or perfect and scandal has been with the church since the beginning.

I do agree that a large part of problem with is with homosexuality. There seems to be a large correlation between homosexuals and pederasty. I do not believe any homosexual man should be a priest although I am fully aware that many are. I do however pray for all Holy Priests and for you may we all be lead to truth by Christ our Lord.

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A. Please calm down. I'm not trying to pick a fight on the internet at all, just pointing out problems as I see it. You're completely free to disagree and I take no offense if you or others do.
B. The Greeks/Romans don't run much nowadays. The original tolerance of pederasty in the RCC clergy came from that culture though, around the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. It's not a problem in the Roman Empire today.
C. I don't want to debate protestantism vs. RCC-ism, but will note that the costs in the RCC I cited are real, and disproportionate vs. other denominations. I cited a link to the homosexually dominated RCC clergy as the underlying cause.
D. Your third paragraph seems to reference doctrinal differences as to the eucharist, and I don't think that requires a nominally celibate priesthood. In fact, the RCC has 125 or more married priests in the US. But anyway, this isn't about transubstantiation etc. So really, it's an intra-RCC debate that is being had both at the laity and clergy levels, as to how special or widespread the exceptions should be, to the middle-age doctrinal requirements of clerical celibacy. As a protestant myself I would only note that Christ did not according to my training/reading ever establish a celibate priesthood requirement, nor other codes for pastors.
E. Your final paragraph I appreciate and take no issue with at all. Have a nice day.

I appreciate your response. The married priests are from different rites that are in communion with Rome or converts from the Anglican Church or Lutheran Church who are allowed to keep their priesthood. In the Latin Rite it has been the tradition since the middle ages that all priests and bishops be celibate. Although, married men are allowed to become priests in the eastern rites, a unmarried or widowed priest cannot marry. I do agree that not all priest need to be celibate and that it is a matter of discipline. However, there is a need for celibacy in the priesthood.The High Priest Jesus Christ was celibate and they are called to emulate Christ, and to be Christ to the faithful. However all Bishops are celibate and that is the case for both for the Catholic Rites and the Orthodox church.

As far as weather sex abuse is a problem that is more Catholic than other faiths, I really feel is a moot point. It is clear that all faiths have problems in this area. It is something that shouldn't happen to anyone and a single case in any faith is too much. I do feel that in this topic as in many others the Catholic Church is singled out. A case in any RCC Parrish is seen as an indictment of the entire faith and is bunched together with all catholic cases and statistics. Usually, when a case happens in a protestant church it is seen as a individual matter of the particular church vs the whole denomination or Protestantism as a whole. I don't think this is as much of a historical issue issue vs a societal issue in the current times we live in.