Cardinal George Pell has won his appeal bid to the High Court and will be freed from prison.
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The court unanimously found Ballarat-born Pell's conviction for child sex abuse should be overturned and he should immediately be released from prison.
"The High Court found that the jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant's guilt with respect to each of the offences for which he was convicted, and ordered that the convictions be quashed and the verdicts of acquittal be entered in their places," a summary of their decision, handed down on Tuesday, said.
Pell will be released from Barwon Prison, near Geelong. He has spent more than 400 days behind bars.
A jury found Pell guilty of five charges in December 2018, accepting evidence of one complainant that the Cardinal had sexually abused him and another 13-year- old choirboy at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996.
An appeal to Victoria's Court of Appeal last year was unsuccessful.
But the full bench of seven judges revealed in a unanimous judgment on Tuesday that the jury should have had reasonable doubt as to Pell's guilt.
Pell has always maintained his innocence.
Shortly after the outcome was announced, Pell released this statement:
"I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice."
"This has been remedied today with the High Court's unanimous decision.
"I look forward to reading the judgment and reasons for the decision in detail.
"I hold no ill will toward my accuser, I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough.
"However my trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the Church.
"The point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not.
"The only basis for long term healing is truth and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all.
"A special thanks for all the prayers and thousands of letters of support.
"I want to thank in particular my family for their love and support and what they had to go through; my small team of advisors; those who spoke up for me and suffered as a result; and all my friends and supporters here and overseas.
"Also my deepest thanks and gratitude to my entire legal team for their unwavering resolve to see justice prevail, to throw light on manufactured obscurity and to reveal the truth.
"Finally, I am aware of the current health crisis. I am praying for all those affected and our medical frontline personnel."
Read the full outcome from the High Court here.
Affected by this story? There is help available.
You can phone CASA, Sebastopol on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292. Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380 between 9am and 5pm, or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.
Other support numbers include:
- Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au
- Suicide Callback Service: 1300 659 467
- Mensline: 1300 789 978 or mensline.org.au
- Survivors of Suicide: 0449 913 535
- Relationships Australia: 1800 050 321
- Ballarat Community Health: 5338 4500
- headspace Ballarat (for 12-25s and parent support): 5304 4777
- QLife: 1800 184 527 (Support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people)
- Soldier On: 1300 620 380
FROM ALLEGATIONS TO APPEAL: A TIMELINE OF THE GEORGE PELL CASE
1996
* Pell appointed Archbishop of Melbourne by Pope John Paul II
* Pell sexually abuses two 13-year-old choirboys after a Sunday solemn mass at St Patrick's Cathedral, according to a later jury finding.
* A second indecent act is committed by Pell against one of the choirboys in a corridor at the cathedral, the same jury found.
2001-2014
* Pell served as Archbishop of Sydney, 2001-2014.
* He is made a cardinal in 2003.
2016
* The Herald-Sun reports Pell is being investigated by Victoria Police's Sano taskforce for "multiple offences" committed while he was a priest in Ballarat in the 1970s and Archbishop of Melbourne.
* Pell says the allegations are "without foundation and utterly false".
* Under Vatican rules, Pell gives Pope Francis his resignation on his 75th birthday, as is customary. It is not accepted.
* Victoria Police officers travel to Rome to interview Pell over the abuse claims. He voluntarily participates in the interview.
2017
JUNE 2017
* Pell is charged with multiple counts of historical child sexual offences.
* He denies the charges and vows to clear his name.
* Pell takes leave from his Vatican finance chief role to fight the charges.
JULY 2017
* Pell returns to Australia.
* He hires top barrister Robert Richter QC.
* Supporters set up a fund to help Pell fight the charges.
2018
MARCH 2018
* Prosecutors drop one of the charges against Pell.
* A month-long committal hearing begins to determine if Pell will face trial.
* Prosecutors withdraw more charges.
* Mr Richter claims police conducted a "get Pell operation" and accuses Melbourne magistrate Belinda Wallington of bias. She refuses to disqualify herself from the case.
MAY 2018
* Ms Wallington orders Pell stand trial on some charges but throws out others.
* Pell formally pleads "not guilty".
* Two trials are ordered, separating the 1970s and 1990s allegations.
AUGUST 2018
* The 1990s "cathedral trial" begins in the Victorian County Court in Melbourne.
* Pell pleads not guilty again to one charge of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and four of indecent acts with a child, over incidents involving two 13-year-old choirboys at St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996.
SEPTEMBER 2018
* The jury is discharged, unable to reach a verdict following a week of deliberation. Some jurors weep.
NOVEMBER 2018
* A retrial begins. The jury members aren't told of the previous hung jury.
DECEMBER 2018
* Pell is found guilty on all charges by an unanimous jury.
* Mr Richter says Pell will appeal.
* Suppression orders prevent Australian media reporting the verdict but it spreads through international media within hours.
2019
FEBRUARY 2019
* Hearings begin ahead of the second trial. Prosecutors drop another charge.
* An appeal is filed against the cathedral trial conviction.
* A County Court judge deems vital evidence inadmissible.
* Prosecutors withdraw all remaining charges against Pell and drop a second trial over allegations Pell indecently assaulted boys in Ballarat in the 1970s when he was a parish priest.
* Pell is taken into custody on February 27 as the plea hearing begins.
MARCH 2019
* Pell is sentenced by County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd to a maximum of six years in prison. He must serve at least three years and eight months in jail before being eligible for parole. He will be a registered sex offender for life.
JUNE 2019
* Court of Appeal considers Pell's application to challenge his conviction on June 5 and 6.
AUGUST 2019
* Court of Appeal rejects Pell's appeal in a 2-1 decision, meaning he will remain behind bars.
SEPTEMBER 2019
* Pell lodges a special leave to appeal application with the High Court
NOVEMBER 2019
* Two High Court judges refer Pell's application to the full court to hear appeal arguments.
2020
MARCH 2020
* Full bench of the High Court hears Pell's appeal arguments.
APRIL 2020
* High Court quashes all of Pell's convictions.