Australian court fines media $A1.1 million for breach of gag order in Cardinal Pell sex assault case
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters An Australian court on Friday ordered a dozen media firms to pay a total of $A1.1 million in fines for breaching a suppression order on reporting the conviction of former Vatican treasurer George Pell for child sexual assault. The 12 media outlets, mostly owned by Nine Entertainment Co and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, […]
Cardinal Pell eyes a Vatican scandal he suspected long ago
Rome, ItalyAP Cardinal George Pell is enjoying his first Roman spring since being exonerated of sex abuse charges in his native Australia: He receives visitors to his Vatican flat, sips midday Aperol Spritz’s at the outdoor cafe downstairs and keeps up religiously with news of a Holy See financial scandal that he suspected years ago. […]
Cardinal Pell calls for more laity involvement in Vatican financial reform efforts
Vatican CityRNS Cardinal George Pell, former secretary for the economy, praised Pope Francis’ ongoing financial reform efforts in an online conference last week, while calling for more lay involvement. “The Catholic people are entitled to honesty and efficiency,” Pell said at the online event on Thursday organised by the Global Institute of Church Management. “Financially […]
Cardinal Pell on Trump, Benedict XVI and a plot against him
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis’ former treasurer, Cardinal George Pell, praised President Donald Trump’s “splendid” Supreme Court appointments and defence of Christian values but questioned his effort to sow doubt in the integrity of the US presidential election. “It’s no small thing to weaken trust in great public institutions,” Pell told reporters Wednesday in launching his […]
Cardinal Pell says church needs rules on status of ex popes
Rome, ItalyReuters Cardinal George Pell, a leading Roman Catholic conservative, said the Vatican needs clear rules to govern the status of future popes who resign rather than rule for life and that such a move would help church unity. Pell is one of the highest-ranking church figures to speak publicly on the need for rules […]
Cardinal Pell on the Vatican and vindication
RomeAP The Pope’s former treasurer, Cardinal George Pell, said on Monday he feels a dismayed sense of vindication as the financial mismanagement he tried to uncover in the Holy See is now being exposed in a spiralling Vatican corruption investigation. Pell made the comments to The Associated Press in his first interview since returning to […]
Australian anti-graft agency dismisses Vatican speculation
Canberra, AustraliaAP An Australian anti-graft agency said on Wednesday it was not investigating the transfer of Vatican funds to Australia because of a lack of evidence of wrongdoing, further undermining Italian media speculation that the money might be linked to the overturned convictions of Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse. Italian newspaper Corriere della […]
Pope warmly greets redeemed Cardinal Pell after abuse trial; four Swiss Guards test positive to coronavirus
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis met Monday with Cardinal George Pell and thanked him for his witness, warmly welcoming him for a private audience in the Apostolic Palace after the cardinal’s sex abuse conviction and acquittal in Australia. The Vatican released photos and a brief video clip of the meeting, a clear sign that both the […]
Cardinal Pell’s timely return to Rome fuels rumours of his restoration as finance sheriff
Vatican CityRNS Reforming the Vatican’s tangled finances, once the subject of hushed conversations in hallways, has gone mainstream. Every day, media reports shine more light on the intricate dealings of church officials, revealing troubling relationships and conflicting interests. After years of scandals and sensationalistic tell-all books about insider schemes, the powers inside the Vatican seem […]
Cardinal Pell returns to Vatican mired in financial scandal
Rome, ItalyAP Cardinal George Pell, who left the Vatican in 2017 to face child sexual abuse charges in Australia, returned to Rome on Wednesday to find a Holy See mired in the type of corruption scandal he worked to expose and clean up. The 79-year-old Pell arrived at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport on a […]