Cardinal George Pell Found Guilty of Sexually Assaulting Choirboys

The conviction represents a landmark ruling in a wider global scandal that has engulfed the Catholic Church

MELBOURNE, Australia—The most senior Vatican official to stand trial on child sex-abuse charges was found guilty of assaulting two choirboys at a church in his former diocese, though a second trial won’t proceed after prosecutors dropped the case on Tuesday.

The guilty verdict was issued on Dec. 11 against Cardinal George Pell. A judge in Melbourne, where the cardinal was archbishop for five years, agreed to lift an order restricting coverage of the allegations against the priest, as well as details of the outcome of that...