Did Vatican Support Pell’s Detractors?
He points to coincidences between flare-ups in sex-abuse accusations against Pell and internal opposition against Pell when he attempted to clean up the Vatican finances.
By February 2015 Pell discovered in various Vatican dicasteries 1.4 billion Euros that did not appear in the balance sheets.
According to Sire, this awoke Pell's adversaries, especially the Cardinals Calcagno, Versaldi, Bertello and Parolin who considered Pell as “the chief enemy”.
Pell repeatedly asked Francis for Calcagno's dismissal as President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (Apsa). Francis replied he would need proof of wrongdoing. Although proof after proof was submitted, Francis protected Calcagno with whom he was dining nearly every night.
In Australia, police pursued Pell with extraordinary vigour on trumped-up accusations. A special task force interviewed Pell in Rome in 2016.
In June 2017, the decision was taken to prosecute Pell. He returned to Australia where he was convicted for sexual abuse that could not have happened.
According to Henry Sire, Cardinal Parolin knew on June 19, 2017, through the Australian nuncio that Pell would face a trial. One day later he forced Libero Milone, Pell's right hand in cleaning up the Vatican finances, to resign.
Picture: George Pell, © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk, CC BY-SA, #newsQsjzqrbggc
