Dramatic fall from grace for Vatican treasurer

Cardinal George Pell’s conviction for child sexual offences in Australia brings the decades-long abuse scandal in the Catholic Church to the heart of the Vatican, writes Byron Kaye

For two decades, George Pell was the dominant figure in the Catholic Church in Australia — a boy from a gold mining town whose ambition, intellect, and knack for befriending influential people propelled him to become the third most senior official in the Vatican.