Lawyers representing the prosecution in Australia’s case against Cardinal George Pell for psychological harm and alleged sexual abuse, of which he was acquitted, said on Wednesday the cases must be reviewed.
George Pell died last night in Rome, aged 81, after undergoing surgery on his hip.
The father of one of the children Pell accused of sexual abuse in the 1990s is asking for monetary compensation for psychological harm, and the criminal trial that reviewed the case in 2018 acquitted the cardinal in 2020.
Lisa Flynn, director of the Shine law firm representing the victim’s father, said in a statement today that she will continue “the litigation against the Church,” also citing the possible assets Pell left behind for possible compensation. .
In the same document, Flynn says that “there is still a great deal of evidence to support the allegation” and that he will therefore ask the court to rule “when it is appropriate”.
In August 2022, the Supreme Court for the Australian Region of Victoria rejected a request by the Catholic Church to “stop the proceedings”.
The prosecutor, who is referred to in the court documents by the initials RWQ, claims that he has psychological problems after he became aware of the alleged abuses suffered by his son in the 1990s. The victim, the son of RWQ, died in 2014 as a result of “an accidental (medication) overdose”.
This is one of the cases against Cardinal Pell, who was Secretary of the Economy of Vatican City.
In 2017, Pell was formally charged with five sexual assaults at St. Patrick’s when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s.
Pell was found guilty of six years in prison for the acts committed in Melbourne in December 2018, with the sentence confirmed in August 2019.
In April 2020, the Supreme Court of Australia, the country’s highest court, reversed the verdict that had convicted the most senior member of the Church.
Cardinal Pell, the third most important figure in the Vatican, spent three months in prison before being released.
Source: DN
