Two senior churchmen have been convicted of criminal wrongdoing in secular jurisdictions, in connection with the ongoing crisis of clerical sexual abuse and coverup. Cardinal George Pell of Australia has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two altar servers – both boys – in the Melbourne cathedral sacristy in the mid-1990s, when he was archbishop there. Cardinal Pell is awaiting his sentence, and is appealing his conviction.
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, has been found guilty of failure to report abuse committed by one of his priests — Fr. Bernard Preynat, an accused serial abuser who has admitted to molesting boys — and given a six months’ suspended sentence. Cardinal Barbarin has announced his intention to resign his see and appeal the verdict against him.
