INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Cardinal George Pell arrives at a Melbourne court on Wednesday
Cardinal George Pell has been remanded in custody after being found guilty of sexual offences against children in Australia.The ex-Vatican
treasurer abused two boys in 1996, a jury found in December
Pell's bail was revoked on Wednesday, placing him in custody for the first time
He will be sentenced on 13 March
The cardinal is the most senior Catholic figure ever convicted of sexual abuse
He maintains he is innocent and has lodged an appeal.A jury unanimously convicted Pell of one charge of sexually penetrating a child under
16, and four counts of committing an indecent act on a child under 16.The verdict and details of the case had been kept secret until Tuesday
due to legal reasons.Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, a court heard on Wednesday.Pell's conviction has rocked
He was considered one of the Pope's closest advisers and spent five years overseeing the Vatican's finances.On Tuesday, the Vatican
confirmed that Pell was prohibited from public ministry, and banned from having contact with minors
He has to abide by these rules until any appeal is over.What has he been convicted ofPell was archbishop of Melbourne when he abused two
13-year-old boys in a cathedral following a mass, the County Court of Victoria heard last year.After telling them they were in trouble for
drinking communion wine, Pell forced each boy into indecent acts, prosecutors said
He abused one of the boys again in 1997.Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Pell has been swarmed by media and
onlookers before his court appearances
The court heard testimony from one of the victims
The other died of a drug overdose in 2014.What happened on WednesdayIn a preliminary sentencing hearing, Pell's lawyer, Robert Richter QC,
described it as "no more than a plain, vanilla sexual penetration case"
He submitted 10 character references for the cardinal, including from former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.However, prosecutors
argued that Pell's "serious offending" warranted significant jail time.Judge Peter Kidd said the abuse was "callous" and "brazen", adding:
"It did involve a breach of trust and a degree of impunity
How else did he think he was going to get away with it"He revoked Pell's bail following a lengthy hearing.First night in custodyHywel
Griffith, TheIndianSubcontinent News Australia correspondentGeorge Pell bowed towards the judge and leaned on his walking stick, before
officers took him down from the courtroom and into custody
Earlier, he'd arrived to face a crowd of angry campaigners waving placards - many had come to see the moment he lost his liberty.Though an
appeal looms, Pell will return to court in two weeks to learn his sentence.Who is PellThe Australian cleric rose in prominence as a strong
supporter of traditional Catholic values, often taking conservative views and advocating for priestly celibacy.He was summoned to Rome in
2014 to clean up the Vatican's finances, and was often described as the Church's third-ranked official.Image copyrightReutersImage
caption
Pell (r) was one of the Pope's closest advisers at the Vatican
But his career has been dogged
first by claims that he covered up child sexual abuse by priests, and then later that he was himself an abuser.Pell was demoted from the
Pope's inner circle in December
His term as Vatican treasurer expired on Sunday.What is the wider pictureThe sexual abuse of children was rarely discussed in public before
the 1970s, and it was not until the 1980s that the first cases of molestation by priests came to light, in the US and Canada.In the decades
since, evidence of widespread abuse has emerged globally
In Australia, an inquiry heard that 7% of the nation's Catholic priests had abused children.Pope Francis has established a committee to
In recent days, he has promised concrete action, calling clergy guilty of abuse "tools of Satan".But critics say he could do more to combat
paedophiles and those who conceal abuse.
