INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
who helped elect popes and ran the Vatican's finances, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two choirboys, a court said Tuesday,
becoming the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex crimes.An Australian court found Pell guilty by a trial jury on one
count of sexual abuse and four counts of indecent assault of two boys at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in the 1990s.Pell, now aged
77, was accused of cornering the boys -- then aged 12 and 13 -- in the cathedral's sacristy and forcing them to perform a sex act on him.The
cleric denied all the charges and an initial trial ended with a hung jury in September, but he was convicted on retrial on December 11.A
wide-ranging gag order from the presiding judge had prevented the media from reporting even the existence of court proceedings and the
ensuing trials since May.The suppression order was lifted on Tuesday after prosecutors decided against proceeding with a planned second
trial dealing with separate allegations against Pell.Pell has steadfastly denied all the allegations against him, and his defence lawyer
told AFP he intends to appeal the conviction.A pre-sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.(Except for the headline, this story has
not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
