Cardinal Pell will publish the prison diary by meditating on the case, church

Cardinal George Pell, a former Vatican finance minister, convicted and later acquitted of sexual abuse in his native Australia, will publish his prison diary meditating on life in isolation, the Catholic Church, politics and sports.

Catholic publisher Ignatius Press told The Associated Press on Saturday that the first installment of the 1.000-page diary would likely be published in the spring of 2021.

"I've read half of it so far, and it's a wonderful read," said Ignatius editor, Jesuit father Joseph Fessio.

Fessio sent a letter to Ignatius' email list asking for donations, saying that Ignatius wanted to give Pell "adequate advances" to the diary to help compensate for his legal debts. The publisher plans to publish three to four volumes and the diary becomes a "spiritual classic".

Pell served 13 months in prison before the Australian High Court acquitted him in April for molesting two choirs in Melbourne's St. Patrick's Cathedral while he was archbishop of Australia's second largest city in the 90s.

In the journal, Pell reflects on everything from his conversations with lawyers about his case to U.S. politics and sports and his Vatican reform efforts. He was not allowed to celebrate mass in prison, but on Sunday he reported seeing a program of Anglican choirs and offering a "generally positive, but sometimes even critical" assessment of two US evangelical preachers, Fessio said in an e -mail.

Pell had long insisted that he was innocent of the harassment charges and suggested that his prosecution be linked to his fight against corruption in the Vatican, where he served as Pope Francis' finance czar until he was took leave in 2017 to face the trial.