Cardinal George Pell Meets With Pope Francis At The Vatican For Private Meeting

Cardinal George Pell has travelled to the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Francis.

The 78-year-old left Australia two weeks ago to go to Rome where many suspected he would make time to chat with His Holiness.

The meeting occurred inside the Vatican, with the Holy See's daily bulletin releasing two photos and a short video of the two sitting down for a chinwag.

Neither person was wearing a face mask during the meeting, despite four of the Vatican's Swiss Guards testing positive for the coronavirus.

There's no word on what the two discussed however the Pope could be heard saying 'good to see you' and 'more than a year' when they first met.

9News

Pell spent 13 months in jail after he was found guilty of molesting two Victorian choir boys in the 1990s when he was the Archbishop of Melbourne.

However, after serving more than a year behind bars, the High Court acquitted him of those charges and he was free to leave.

After the meeting was done, Pell said the discussion went 'very well'.

The Vatican is currently dealing with a large embezzlement and corruption scandal with one of its Cardinals. Considering Pell used to be the Catholic Church's treasurer, it's not surprising that he has been called in for a meeting with the Pontiff.

PA

Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu has resigned from the church after allegations emerged he had given at least €600,000 (£550,000/AUD$981,000) to a charity cooperative run by one of his brothers.

Becciu was surprised by the claims and says he would give his life for the pope.

During a news conference the 72-year-old said: "They accuse me of embezzlement and of favouring [my] brothers, surreal. I have not enriched my family. I hope the pope realises that it is all a misunderstanding."

Pell sounded keen to get back to the Holy City to help with the scandal.

After Becciu was sacked, Pell said: "The Holy Father was elected to clean up Vatican finances. He plays a long game and is to be thanked and congratulated on recent developments."

Pell's Australian lawyer, Robert Richter, added to Reuters: "If one is to give any credence to what has been alleged, then it is critical that all proper money-tracing exercises be undertaken."

Topics: News, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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