Australian Cardinal George Pell, who helped elect popes and ran the Vatican's finances, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two choirboys, a court said Tuesday, becoming the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex crimes.

An Australian court found Pell guilty by a trial jury on one count of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/popes-vow-to-battle-child-sex-abuse-fails-to-appease-victims-199463">sexual abuse</a> and four counts of indecent assault of two boys at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in the 1990s.

Pell, now aged 77, was accused of cornering the boys -- then aged 12 and 13 -- in the cathedral's sacristy and forcing them to perform a sex act on him.

The cleric, who has remained free on bail, denied all the charges and an initial trial ended with a hung jury in September, but he was convicted on retrial on December 11.

A wide-ranging gag order from the presiding judge had prevented the media from reporting even the existence of court proceedings and the ensuing trials since May.

The suppression order was lifted during a court hearing on Tuesday when prosecutors decided against proceeding with a planned second trial dealing with separate allegations against Pell.

Pell has steadfastly denied all the allegations against him, and his defence lawyer told AFP he intends to appeal the conviction.

A pre-sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, when Pell is expected to be remanded in custody.

Pell sat impassively during Tuesday's court hearing, wearing a beige sport coat over a dark shirt and clerical collar.

His conviction is another hammer blow to the Church, which has struggled to convince the world it is serious about tackling widespread child abuse and paedophilia.

News of Pell's conviction came just two days after a historic Vatican summit on sexual abuse by priests, which Pope Francis likened to "human sacrifice".

"We are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth," Francis said in closing remarks to the summit on Sunday, vowing to deal with every case of abuse "with the utmost seriousness".

But critics say the institution is still moving too slowly in dealing with a problem that is global in scale and, at minimum, spans decades.

Days after Pell was convicted in secret, the Church announced he had been pulled off a panel of cardinals that make up the Pope's cabinet and closest advisors.&nbsp;

But he has remained in his position as Vatican treasurer, effectively the church's third-ranking official, although he has been on extended leave since his indictment.

Gag order&nbsp;

Pell's case has caused consternation in Australia, where he had once been praised by luminaries from a prime minister down and was a leading conservative voice on issues ranging from gay marriage to climate change.

He was named in 2003 to the Vatican's powerful College of Cardinals, a position that allowed him to vote in the conclaves that elected popes Benedict and Francis.

In 2014, he was handpicked by Pope Francis to make the church's finances more transparent.

For decades, Pell denied being an abuser or covering up sex abuse, but he did admit he "mucked up" in dealing with paedophile priests in the state of Victoria.

Australia's media has strongly protested the gag order imposed on the case, which forbade them -- and international agencies like AFP -- from even mentioning the existence of the trial or the order itself.

Following Pell's December conviction, some international media reported the verdict, while local newspapers published front-page stories informing readers that a prominent Australian had been found guilty of serious crimes, but they were not allowed to reveal what or who.

The judge responded with suggestions they could face criminal prosecution, jail time of up to five years, and in the case of overseas papers -- possible extradition.

Around one in five Australians are Catholic, roughly five million people.

A five-year royal commission inquiry into child abuse said in a report issued last year that tens of thousands of children had been sexually abused in Australian churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools in a "national tragedy" over many generations.

Before Pell, the most high-profile case in Australia concerning sex abuse in the Church was the conviction earlier last year of the former archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, on charges of concealing crimes by a paedophile priest in the 1970s.

Wilson successfully appealed that conviction in early December.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, who helped elect popes and ran the Vatican's finances, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two choirboys, a court said Tuesday, becoming the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex crimes.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, who helped elect popes and ran the Vatican's finances, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two choirboys, a court said Tuesday, becoming the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex crimes. An Australian court found Pell guilty by a trial jury on one count of sexual abuse and four counts of indecent assault of two boys at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in the 1990s. Pell, now aged 77, was accused of cornering the boys -- then aged 12 and 13 -- in the cathedral's sacristy and forcing them to perform a sex act on him. The cleric, who has remained free on bail, denied all the charges and an initial trial ended with a hung jury in September, but he was convicted on retrial on December 11. A wide-ranging gag order from the presiding judge had prevented the media from reporting even the existence of court proceedings and the ensuing trials since May. The suppression order was lifted during a court hearing on Tuesday when prosecutors decided against proceeding with a planned second trial dealing with separate allegations against Pell. Pell has steadfastly denied all the allegations against him, and his defence lawyer told AFP he intends to appeal the conviction. A pre-sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, when Pell is expected to be remanded in custody. Pell sat impassively during Tuesday's court hearing, wearing a beige sport coat over a dark shirt and clerical collar. His conviction is another hammer blow to the Church, which has struggled to convince the world it is serious about tackling widespread child abuse and paedophilia. News of Pell's conviction came just two days after a historic Vatican summit on sexual abuse by priests, which Pope Francis likened to "human sacrifice". "We are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth," Francis said in closing remarks to the summit on Sunday, vowing to deal with every case of abuse "with the utmost seriousness". But critics say the institution is still moving too slowly in dealing with a problem that is global in scale and, at minimum, spans decades. Days after Pell was convicted in secret, the Church announced he had been pulled off a panel of cardinals that make up the Pope's cabinet and closest advisors. But he has remained in his position as Vatican treasurer, effectively the church's third-ranking official, although he has been on extended leave since his indictment. Gag order Pell's case has caused consternation in Australia, where he had once been praised by luminaries from a prime minister down and was a leading conservative voice on issues ranging from gay marriage to climate change. He was named in 2003 to the Vatican's powerful College of Cardinals, a position that allowed him to vote in the conclaves that elected popes Benedict and Francis. In 2014, he was handpicked by Pope Francis to make the church's finances more transparent. For decades, Pell denied being an abuser or covering up sex abuse, but he did admit he "mucked up" in dealing with paedophile priests in the state of Victoria. Australia's media has strongly protested the gag order imposed on the case, which forbade them -- and international agencies like AFP -- from even mentioning the existence of the trial or the order itself. Following Pell's December conviction, some international media reported the verdict, while local newspapers published front-page stories informing readers that a prominent Australian had been found guilty of serious crimes, but they were not allowed to reveal what or who. The judge responded with suggestions they could face criminal prosecution, jail time of up to five years, and in the case of overseas papers -- possible extradition. Around one in five Australians are Catholic, roughly five million people. A five-year royal commission inquiry into child abuse said in a report issued last year that tens of thousands of children had been sexually abused in Australian churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools in a "national tragedy" over many generations. Before Pell, the most high-profile case in Australia concerning sex abuse in the Church was the conviction earlier last year of the former archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, on charges of concealing crimes by a paedophile priest in the 1970s. Wilson successfully appealed that conviction in early December.

Top Vatican cleric Cardinal Pell convicted of child sex crimes

The hidden homosexuality of so much of the Catholic hierarchy has distorted "every aspect of the church", a new book claims.

"In the Closet of the Vatican", a 570-page tome which will be published in 20 countries on Wednesday, claims that four out of five Vatican clerics are gay.

French sociologist Frederic Martel, who spent four years interviewing more than 1,500 priests, bishops and cardinals, said the reflex to hide the "double life" of so much of the clergy has left the church "distorted with shame" and caught in a culture of cover-up.

"The culture of secrecy around the fact that the Vatican is mostly gay is the key to reading much of the moral positions the church has taken up" in the last 50 years, Martel told AFP.

It is a "source of distortion of every aspect of the church", he added.

"I set out to understand how, to quote Pope Francis, the institution has come to be built around lies, double lives and hypocrisy," said the sociologist.

"This lie has had huge consequences," said Martel, from its opposition to family planning to the child abuse scandals.

Pope 'prisoner of system'&nbsp;

"It allows us to understand the misogyny of the clergy, the scandals around the Vatican Bank during the time of Archbishop Marcinkus, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and the revolt Pope Francis is now facing," the writer said.

The fact that the Vatican is "an essentially homosexual institution" -- but a closeted one -- accounts for much of the fierce opposition the Pope is now facing as he attempts to reform the hierarchy and its civil service, the Curia, he found.

"The Pope understands the system of which he himself is a prisoner," he argued, citing "his famous phrase, 'Beneath rigidity there is often wickedness and a double life'."

A rule of thumb in the Vatican, Martel said, is "the more a prelate is homophobic in public the more likely he is to be gay in private".

As the sexual revolution gathered pace through the 1960s and 1970s, the church felt "obliged to up its homophobic rhetoric to hide its own secret", added the author, who is also a presenter on French radio. &nbsp;

Abusing priests protected&nbsp;

The most damaging side-effect of the culture of secrecy, he maintained, is the way it has impacted on the child abuse scandals which have shaken the church to the core.&nbsp;

"There is no link whatsoever between sexual abuse and homosexuality," Martel insisted.

"But abuser priests have overwhelmingly been protected by gay bishops who were afraid of scandal and being exposed in the media.

"The church created a culture to hide its gay secret which in the end hid the abuse," Martel argued.

"That is how the system became so perverse and why there is no possibility of reform other than to change the doctrine of chastity for the clergy."

Martel said gay life within the Vatican broke down into roughly five groups. "Non-practising gay clerics who stick by their vows of chastity; those who have gay relationships but struggle with their desires and who self-flagellate, and then those who live with their lovers.

"Often you have cardinals who will be in a relationship with an assistant or a friend, and then there are others who go out and have lovers," he said.

Finally, there was a group "which included two cardinals close to the late John Paul II, who used male prostitutes".

Martel said Pope Francis is more or less "gay-friendly" compared to his predecessors, particularly "when it comes to (not) judging individuals. That said, he is a fiercely opposed to gay marriage".

The hidden homosexuality of so much of the Catholic hierarchy has distorted "every aspect of the church", a new book claims. "In the Closet of the Vatican", a 570-page tome which will be published in 20 countries on Wednesday, claims that four out of five Vatican clerics are gay.

The hidden homosexuality of so much of the Catholic hierarchy has distorted "every aspect of the church", a new book claims. "In the Closet of the Vatican", a 570-page tome which will be published in 20 countries on Wednesday, claims that four out of five Vatican clerics are gay. French sociologist Frederic Martel, who spent four years interviewing more than 1,500 priests, bishops and cardinals, said the reflex to hide the "double life" of so much of the clergy has left the church "distorted with shame" and caught in a culture of cover-up. "The culture of secrecy around the fact that the Vatican is mostly gay is the key to reading much of the moral positions the church has taken up" in the last 50 years, Martel told AFP. It is a "source of distortion of every aspect of the church", he added. "I set out to understand how, to quote Pope Francis, the institution has come to be built around lies, double lives and hypocrisy," said the sociologist. "This lie has had huge consequences," said Martel, from its opposition to family planning to the child abuse scandals. Pope 'prisoner of system' "It allows us to understand the misogyny of the clergy, the scandals around the Vatican Bank during the time of Archbishop Marcinkus, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and the revolt Pope Francis is now facing," the writer said. The fact that the Vatican is "an essentially homosexual institution" -- but a closeted one -- accounts for much of the fierce opposition the Pope is now facing as he attempts to reform the hierarchy and its civil service, the Curia, he found. "The Pope understands the system of which he himself is a prisoner," he argued, citing "his famous phrase, 'Beneath rigidity there is often wickedness and a double life'." A rule of thumb in the Vatican, Martel said, is "the more a prelate is homophobic in public the more likely he is to be gay in private". As the sexual revolution gathered pace through the 1960s and 1970s, the church felt "obliged to up its homophobic rhetoric to hide its own secret", added the author, who is also a presenter on French radio. Abusing priests protected The most damaging side-effect of the culture of secrecy, he maintained, is the way it has impacted on the child abuse scandals which have shaken the church to the core. "There is no link whatsoever between sexual abuse and homosexuality," Martel insisted. "But abuser priests have overwhelmingly been protected by gay bishops who were afraid of scandal and being exposed in the media. "The church created a culture to hide its gay secret which in the end hid the abuse," Martel argued. "That is how the system became so perverse and why there is no possibility of reform other than to change the doctrine of chastity for the clergy." Martel said gay life within the Vatican broke down into roughly five groups. "Non-practising gay clerics who stick by their vows of chastity; those who have gay relationships but struggle with their desires and who self-flagellate, and then those who live with their lovers. "Often you have cardinals who will be in a relationship with an assistant or a friend, and then there are others who go out and have lovers," he said. Finally, there was a group "which included two cardinals close to the late John Paul II, who used male prostitutes". Martel said Pope Francis is more or less "gay-friendly" compared to his predecessors, particularly "when it comes to (not) judging individuals. That said, he is a fiercely opposed to gay marriage".

Four out of five Vatican clerics are gay, says French sociologist Frederic Martel

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Top Vatican cleric Cardinal Pell convicted of child sex crimes

Four out of five Vatican clerics are gay, says French sociologist Frederic Martel