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In Rome, George Pell’s conviction is the moment the global clergy abuse scandal truly arrived on the Vatican’s doorstep.
Pell is the most senior member of the Catholic Church to be found guilty of child sexual abuse.
In many ways, his conviction is uncharted territory for the Vatican.
While another high-profile cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, was just defrocked and publicly demoted over the sexual abuse of minors, in that case, there were no criminal proceedings.
Will Pell be dealt the same hand as McCarrick?
Joshua McElwee, Vatican correspondent at National Catholic Reporter, said that was a distinct possibility.
“It’s the first time it’s happened to a Vatican official and certainly it puts the Pope under a lot of scrutiny as to how he handles this case going forward,” he said.
“He might face a canonical trial here in Rome and could even be laicised — a figure who once was the only cardinal from Australia, the most powerful figure in the Church in Australia.”
For now, the Catholic Church won’t publicly discuss stripping Cardinal Pell of his title, duties and privileges until appeal proceedings in Melbourne are over.
But the Holy See has revealed that Pope Francis has already placed temporary restrictions on the 77-year-old in 2017, at the request of the Church in Australia.
He has been removed from public ministry and ordered not to have any contact with children.
Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti described the verdict as “painful”, adding that it had “shocked many people”.
Can the Pope sack a cardinal for sexual abuse?
The Pope can expel men from the priesthood accused of crimes within the church and society — a process known as being “defrocked”.
A precedent was set this month after McCarrick was found guilty of “solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults”.
The 88-year-old became the first cardinal to be defrocked over sexual assault allegations, and the decision could have ramifications for Cardinal Pell.
McCarrick was referred to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), one of the jurisdictions within the Vatican with the power to investigate cases of sexual abuse by the clergy.
The CDF ordered that McCarrick be defrocked or “dismissed from the clerical state” — a ruling upheld by Pope Francis.
He is not allowed to perform sacraments or hear confessions or celebrate mass, and the punishment was lauded by survivors of abuse.
The Catholic Church also no longer has any responsibility to provide McCarrick with housing, medical care or financial benefits.
However, even priests who are defrocked by the church remain priests, according to Catholic belief.
Ordination changes a man spiritually, and it can never be reversed.
“You are a priest forever,” the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament states.
Will Pell be put on trial in Rome?
The Pope just convened a summit focussed on the church’s response to the global clergy sex abuse crisis.
There was debate over canonical trials, there are often lengthy investigations or tribunals held within the Vatican when priests are accused of abuse.
There is an unknown number of abuse cases which have been referred to the Vatican from all over the world, and pending his appeal, Cardinal Pell’s case is highly likely be on that list.
Mark Hill is an expert in ecclesiastical law and religious liberty and said these trials are sometimes seen as “clandestine”.
“They’re not trials as such they’re generally conducted as a paper exercise, it is done behind closed doors,” he said.
He said it was common for the Vatican to wait for criminal proceedings to conclude before taking its own disciplinary action.
“So I’m not surprised that the church has held back not wishing to pre-empt or to prejudice the criminal trial,” he said.
“Now that it is all in the public domain I’d expect the Vatican to move swiftly.”
The London-based barrister, who is an expert on canon law, said there was increased pressure on the Vatican to be more open about its procedures.
“I would like to think in the light of the safeguarding issues which have been spoken about recently, a fresh wind of transparency will blow through the Vatican,” he said.
If a trial was held, Cardinal Pell would be able to make representations, and even appeal the decision.
“There is a certain inevitability that defrocking will follow,” he said.
“Ultimately, any appeal lies to the Holy Father himself and all those procedures are fully provided for in the code of canon law which applies worldwide to all members of the Catholic Church.”
Does Pell still have his job at the Vatican?
His five-year term as economy minister at the Vatican expired this month, and Mr Gisotti announced today that Cardinal Pell was no longer serving in that role.
He is still one of church’s 223 cardinals — he’s a member of the College of Cardinals.
But his five-year term as economy minister at the Vatican expired on Sunday and it’s not clear if he will have a successor.
Cardinal Pell was a towering figure in Rome who wielded immense influence, particularly in recent years serving as the Vatican’s treasurer.
He took leave from his job in 2017 to return to Australia to stand trial.
Mr McElwee told ABC News that Cardinal Pell won few friends reforming the Vatican bureaucracy, the Curia.
“He was a bit of bulldog, he didn’t mesh well with the Vatican staff, but certainly he’s been praised for some of the reforms he put in place,” he said.
In the Catholic hierarchy, cardinals are second only to the pope — and the appointments are usually for life.
In October 2018, Cardinal Pell was also dropped from the Pope’s influential inner circle, known as the Group of Nine, effectively the Pope’s cabinet.
The announcement on the decision came in December, just a day after Cardinal Pell was found guilty in Australia.
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