CATHOLIC Cardinal George Pell has been granted leave to appeal his child sex abuse conviction in the High Court.
The court announced its decision on Wednesday in Canberra and the appeal is expected to go ahead next year.
Pell, 78, was found guilty by a jury of the rape of a 13-year-old choirboy and sexual assault of another at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996, but he has always denied any wrongdoing.
The Victorian Court of Appeal in August upheld a jury verdict convicting Pell in a 2-1 ruling.
Pell is serving a six-year jail term and is ineligible for parole until he has served three years and eight months of his sentence.
The special leave application was decided by Justices James Edelman and Michelle Gordon.
Australian Associated Press
