When he was acquitted, Cardinal Pell had been convicted of pedophilia

Australian cardinal George Pell, sentenced for pedophilia to 6 years - a sentence confirmed last August by the State Court of Appeal of Victoria -, was acquitted today of all charges by the High Court, the final court in Australia and is about to be released.

Pell had been found guilty of sexually abusing in 1996 in the sacristy of Melbourne Cathedral, when he was archbishop of the diocese, of two 13-year-old choristers caught drinking the mass wine.

Pell stressed that his trial "was not a referendum on the Catholic Church, nor on how Church authorities in Australia treated the crime of pedophilia" among priests. The cardinal then said he had "suffered from a serious injustice" which "was remedied today". Finally he added that he did not harbor any resentment towards his accuser: "I do not want my acquittal to add to the suffering and bitterness that so many feel".