Cardinal Pell Sued in Civil Lawsuit for Clerical Sex Abuse
Vatican’s former No. 3 will be sentenced March 13 for abusing minors in separate trial.

REUTERS/Mark Dadswell
One of the alleged victims in a clerical sex-abuse case that was thrown out against Australian Cardinal George Pell has filed a civil lawsuit against the former Vatican No. 3. The 50-year-old man says Pell and a nun abused him when he lived at the St. Joseph’s School for Boys in Ballarat, Australia, in the 1970s. Pell was convicted in December 2108 in a separate case involving abuse that was allegedly carried out in a cathedral. The second trial, in which the alleged abuse was carried out in a swimming pool, was dismissed by the prosecutor in the case. Lawyers for the plaintiff say they are now seeking damages against the cardinal for psychiatric injury, loss of wages, and medical expenses. “David [not his real name], was one of the four complainants dubbed the ‘swimmers,’ and alleges he was sexually assaulted by Pell in a swimming pool in Ballarat,” the lawsuit states. “He was devastated when the prosecution decided not to proceed with his case.”

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