Australian cardinal convicted of abuse

An Australian court in December convicted Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ top financial adviser and the Vatican’s economy minister, of molesting two choirboys, the Vatican said Tuesday. Pell is the most senior Roman Catholic cleric charged with child sexual abuse. The County Court of Victoria state delivered a unanimous verdict but demanded it be kept secret while prosecutors pursued another abuse case against the cardinal. That case was recently dropped. A sentencing hearing begins Wednesday for Pell, who faces potentially 50 years in prison. He lodged an appeal last week and maintains his innocence.

Amid a global sexual abuse crisis engulfing the Roman Catholic Church—the Vatican wrapped up a four-day summit on the issue Sunday—officials at an Iowa Diocese on Monday published a list of 28 priests who had been credibly accused of abusing more than 100 boys and girls. The list included about 5 percent of the priests who worked for the diocese since it was founded in 1902. The diocese withheld the name of one accused priest pending an appeal to the Vatican. It’s not clear if he still works in a local parish.