Former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell was sentenced to 6 years in jail on Wednesday by an Australian court for <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/top-vatican-cleric-cardinal-pell-convicted-of-child-sex-crimes-199719">sexually abusing two choir boys in Melbourne</a> in the 1990s.

Pell, a former top adviser to Pope Francis, is the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/no-remorse-prosecutors-call-for-immediate-imprisonment-of-australian-cardinal-george-pell-199943">most senior Catholic worldwide to be convicted</a> for child sex offences.

County Court of Victoria Chief Judge Peter Kidd said there was a real possibility that at aged 77, Pell could spend the rest of his life in prison.

"In my view, your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance," said Kidd in handing down the sentence after Pell was convicted of five counts of sexually abusing two children.

"Viewed overall, I consider your moral culpability across both episodes to be high."

Pell has maintained his innocence and has filed an appeal to be heard in June.

The offences against two 13-year-old boys took place after Sunday mass in late 1996 and early 1997 in a room and a corridor at St Patrick's Cathedral, in Melbourne, where Pell was archbishop.

Pell was found guilty on four charges of indecent acts and one of sexual penetration. He faced a maximum of 10 years in jail for each charge.

"In my view, the first episode in the priest's sacristy involved a brazen and forceful sexual attack on the two victims," Kidd told a packed court.

"The acts were sexually graphic. Both victims were visibly and audibly distressed during this offending," he said, adding Pell's behaviour had a "nasty element" to it.

Kidd made it clear the sentence was based solely on the crimes Pell was convicted of by the jury, and that Pell was not to be made a scapegoat for the failings or perceived failings of the Catholic Church.

He set a non-parole period of three years and eight months. He also said Pell would be registered as a sex offender for life.

"I am conscious that the term of imprisonment...carries with it a real, as distinct from theoretical, possibility that you may not live to be released from prison," the judge said.

Pell's sentencing was shown live on television, reflecting the high level of interest in the case, although only the judge was shown and the broadcast was cut immediately after the sentence was delivered.

The senior Catholic was convicted in December, but the verdict was suppressed from being made public in Australia by a court order until February 26, when further child sex offence charges against Pell dating back to the 1970s were dropped.

Former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell was sentenced to 6 years in jail on Wednesday by an Australian court for sexually abusing two choir boys in Melbourne in the 1990s.

Former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell was sentenced to 6 years in jail on Wednesday by an Australian court for sexually abusing two choir boys in Melbourne in the 1990s. Pell, a former top adviser to Pope Francis, is the most senior Catholic worldwide to be convicted for child sex offences. County Court of Victoria Chief Judge Peter Kidd said there was a real possibility that at aged 77, Pell could spend the rest of his life in prison. "In my view, your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance," said Kidd in handing down the sentence after Pell was convicted of five counts of sexually abusing two children. "Viewed overall, I consider your moral culpability across both episodes to be high." Pell has maintained his innocence and has filed an appeal to be heard in June. The offences against two 13-year-old boys took place after Sunday mass in late 1996 and early 1997 in a room and a corridor at St Patrick's Cathedral, in Melbourne, where Pell was archbishop. Pell was found guilty on four charges of indecent acts and one of sexual penetration. He faced a maximum of 10 years in jail for each charge. "In my view, the first episode in the priest's sacristy involved a brazen and forceful sexual attack on the two victims," Kidd told a packed court. "The acts were sexually graphic. Both victims were visibly and audibly distressed during this offending," he said, adding Pell's behaviour had a "nasty element" to it. Kidd made it clear the sentence was based solely on the crimes Pell was convicted of by the jury, and that Pell was not to be made a scapegoat for the failings or perceived failings of the Catholic Church. He set a non-parole period of three years and eight months. He also said Pell would be registered as a sex offender for life. "I am conscious that the term of imprisonment...carries with it a real, as distinct from theoretical, possibility that you may not live to be released from prison," the judge said. Pell's sentencing was shown live on television, reflecting the high level of interest in the case, although only the judge was shown and the broadcast was cut immediately after the sentence was delivered. The senior Catholic was convicted in December, but the verdict was suppressed from being made public in Australia by a court order until February 26, when further child sex offence charges against Pell dating back to the 1970s were dropped.

Former Vatican treasurer Pell jailed for six years for sexually abusing choir boys

Hours after becoming the highest-profile Catholic cleric to be accused of sexually abusing children,&nbsp;Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell said Thursday he had been a victim of &quot;relentless character assassination&quot; and said he would take leave from the Vatican to clear his name.

The Vatican chief said he would return to Australia and return to work after after proving himself innocent.

In a strongly supportive statement, the Vatican said Pell&#39;s staff would continue his work in his absence and noted Francis&#39;s respect for the Australian&#39;s &quot;honesty&quot; and &quot;energetic dedication&quot; to his work on Church financial reform.

&quot;The Holy See expresses its respect for the Australian justice system that will have to decide the merits of the questions raised,&quot; the statement said.

&quot;At the same time, it is important to recall that Cardinal Pell has openly and repeatedly condemned as immoral and intolerable the acts of abuse committed against minors; has cooperated in the past with Australian authorities ... has supported the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; and finally, as a diocesan bishop in Australia, has introduced systems and procedures both for the protection of minors and to provide assistance to victims of abuse.&quot;

Pell,&nbsp;unofficially considered the number three in the Vatican hierarchy, said he had been in close contact with Pope Francis, who in turn came out strongly in his defence and has asked him to resign from his senior Church post.

&quot;I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I am innocent of these charges,&quot; the 76-year-old said at a press conference. &quot;They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.&quot;

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell was Thursday charged with multiple child sex offences in Australia, police said.

&quot;There are multiple complainants relating to those charges,&quot; said Victoria state police deputy commissioner Shane Patton to a Melbourne conference, reports Reuters. Cardinal Pell was charged by summons to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18, he said.

Pell was interviewed in Rome by Australian police last October over the allegations which he strongly denies.

Pell is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged&nbsp;in the Catholic Church&#39;s long-running sexual abuse scandal.

&quot;Victoria Police have charged Cardinal George Pell with historical sexual assault offences,&quot; Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters.

&#39;CATASTROPHIC&#39; CHOICES

Pell told the Australian inquiry last year the Church made &quot;catastrophic&quot; choices by refusing to believe abused children, shuffling abusive priests from parish to parish and relying too heavily on the counsel of priests to solve the problem, Reuters reports.

Francis&#39;s attempts to root out sexual abuse in the Church have hit stumbling blocks. Marie Collins, the top non-clerical member of a papal commission on abuse, resigned in frustration earlier this year, citing &quot;shameful&quot; resistance to change within the Vatican.

Church sexual abuse broke into the open in 2002, when it was discovered that US&nbsp;bishops in the Boston area moved abusers from parish to parish instead of defrocking them. Similar scandals have since been discovered around the world and tens of millions of dollars have been paid in compensation.

Thousands of cases of sexual abuse of children by priests have come to light around the world in recent years as investigations have encouraged long-silent victims to finally go public with their complaints.

&quot;I would suspect (the charges against Pell) are going to be stunning to the Vatican and to the pope himself,&quot; said Thomas P&nbsp;Doyle, the U.S. priest whose report on molestation in the church led to the discovery of cover-up practices in Boston.

&quot;My suspicion is that the pope will do something but I don&#39;t know what because there&#39;s no scenario for this,&quot; Doyle said by telephone from his home in Virginia.

Under previous popes, the Vatican, a sovereign state in the middle of Rome, sheltered officials wanted by other countries.

In the early 1980s, the Vatican refused to hand over to Italy Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, an American who was then head of the Vatican bank and wanted for questioning about the fraudulent bankruptcy of a private Italian bank.

Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston moved to Rome after a sexual abuse scandal erupted in his diocese in 2001 and has been living in the Italian capital since.

Victims groups were outraged when Law was given a plum job as chief priest at a Rome basilica. Victim support groups have repeatedly attacked the Vatican for its response to the crisis, saying successive popes have failed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

&quot;It would be naive for us to assume that people will be only relieved,&quot; said Neil Woodger, vice president of the In Good Faith Foundation, which says it represents 460 victims of Catholic church abuse in Australia.

&quot;They&#39;re going to be experiencing a bit of distress as well,&quot; he said. &quot;It is a result that I think points to justice working and that justice is there for everybody.&quot;

Pope aide Pell is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged in the Catholic Church's long-running sexual abuse scandal

Hours after becoming the highest-profile Catholic cleric to be accused of sexually abusing children, Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell said Thursday he had been a victim of "relentless character assassination" and said he would take leave from the Vatican to clear his name. The Vatican chief said he would return to Australia and return to work after after proving himself innocent. In a strongly supportive statement, the Vatican said Pell's staff would continue his work in his absence and noted Francis's respect for the Australian's "honesty" and "energetic dedication" to his work on Church financial reform. "The Holy See expresses its respect for the Australian justice system that will have to decide the merits of the questions raised," the statement said. "At the same time, it is important to recall that Cardinal Pell has openly and repeatedly condemned as immoral and intolerable the acts of abuse committed against minors; has cooperated in the past with Australian authorities ... has supported the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; and finally, as a diocesan bishop in Australia, has introduced systems and procedures both for the protection of minors and to provide assistance to victims of abuse." Pell, unofficially considered the number three in the Vatican hierarchy, said he had been in close contact with Pope Francis, who in turn came out strongly in his defence and has asked him to resign from his senior Church post. "I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I am innocent of these charges," the 76-year-old said at a press conference. "They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me." Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell was Thursday charged with multiple child sex offences in Australia, police said. "There are multiple complainants relating to those charges," said Victoria state police deputy commissioner Shane Patton to a Melbourne conference, reports Reuters. Cardinal Pell was charged by summons to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18, he said. Pell was interviewed in Rome by Australian police last October over the allegations which he strongly denies. Pell is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged in the Catholic Church's long-running sexual abuse scandal. "Victoria Police have charged Cardinal George Pell with historical sexual assault offences," Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters. 'CATASTROPHIC' CHOICES Pell told the Australian inquiry last year the Church made "catastrophic" choices by refusing to believe abused children, shuffling abusive priests from parish to parish and relying too heavily on the counsel of priests to solve the problem, Reuters reports. Francis's attempts to root out sexual abuse in the Church have hit stumbling blocks. Marie Collins, the top non-clerical member of a papal commission on abuse, resigned in frustration earlier this year, citing "shameful" resistance to change within the Vatican. Church sexual abuse broke into the open in 2002, when it was discovered that US bishops in the Boston area moved abusers from parish to parish instead of defrocking them. Similar scandals have since been discovered around the world and tens of millions of dollars have been paid in compensation. Thousands of cases of sexual abuse of children by priests have come to light around the world in recent years as investigations have encouraged long-silent victims to finally go public with their complaints. "I would suspect (the charges against Pell) are going to be stunning to the Vatican and to the pope himself," said Thomas P Doyle, the U.S. priest whose report on molestation in the church led to the discovery of cover-up practices in Boston. "My suspicion is that the pope will do something but I don't know what because there's no scenario for this," Doyle said by telephone from his home in Virginia. Under previous popes, the Vatican, a sovereign state in the middle of Rome, sheltered officials wanted by other countries. In the early 1980s, the Vatican refused to hand over to Italy Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, an American who was then head of the Vatican bank and wanted for questioning about the fraudulent bankruptcy of a private Italian bank. Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston moved to Rome after a sexual abuse scandal erupted in his diocese in 2001 and has been living in the Italian capital since. Victims groups were outraged when Law was given a plum job as chief priest at a Rome basilica. Victim support groups have repeatedly attacked the Vatican for its response to the crisis, saying successive popes have failed to grasp the gravity of the situation. "It would be naive for us to assume that people will be only relieved," said Neil Woodger, vice president of the In Good Faith Foundation, which says it represents 460 victims of Catholic church abuse in Australia. "They're going to be experiencing a bit of distress as well," he said. "It is a result that I think points to justice working and that justice is there for everybody."

Pope aide Cardinal Pell 'strenuously' denies sex abuse  charges

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Former Vatican treasurer Pell jailed for six years for sexually abusing choir boys

Pope aide Cardinal Pell 'strenuously' denies sex abuse charges