Catholic

Cardinal George Pell, once the third most powerful man in the Vatican and Australia's most senior Catholic, has been found guilty of child sexual abuse after a trial in Melbourne, reported the Guardian. 

A jury delivered the unanimous verdict on 11 December in Melbourne's county court, but the result was subject to a suppression order and could not be reported until now.

Following protests by tens of thousands of women, Polish lawmakers on Oct. 6 rejected plans for a near-total ban on abortion, in a hastily arranged vote that marks the first major domestic setback for the conservative government. 

Mehmet Ali Ağca, the Turk who attempted to assassinate John Paul II, was ordered out of Italy on Dec. 29, two days after he paid a surprise visit to the late pope’s tomb.

The 56-year-old former right-wing extremist had been in custody since Dec. 27, when police realized he had entered the country without the appropriate visa.