MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Latest on an appeals court upholding the sex abuse convictions of Cardinal George Pell (all times local):

11 a.m.

The lawyers representing one of the victims abused by Cardinal George Pell say his father shed tears at Pell's appeal being denied.

The Victoria state Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld Pell's convictions for abusing two 13-year-old boys more than 20 years ago.

One of the former choirboys was the key prosecution witness. His friend died of a heroin overdose in 2014 at the age of 31 without ever complaining he had been abused. Neither can be named, nor the father.

Lawyer Lisa Flynn said the father had an "extremely tough wait" for this judgment and the court made the correct decision. "The disgraced cardinal is in the right place behind bars."

___

10:50 a.m.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Cardinal George Pell will be stripped of his Order of Australia honor after he lost his court appeal.

Morrison made the announcement at a news conference Wednesday after a Victoria state appeals court ruled 2-1 to uphold Pell's convictions for molesting two choirboys more than two decades ago.

Pell was sentenced to six years in prison in March and was ordered to serve a minimum of 3 years and 8 months before he will be eligible for parole.

His lawyers are expected to appeal the decision in the High Court, Australia's final arbiter.

___

9:40 a.m.

An Australian court has upheld convictions against the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of sexually abusing children.

The Victoria state Court of Appeal by a 2-1 majority ruling issued Wednesday rejected Cardinal George Pell's appeal of the unanimous verdicts a jury issued in December finding Pope Francis' former finance minister guilty of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne's St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1996 and 1997.

At the time, Pell had just become archbishop of Australia's second largest city and had set up a world-first compensation arrangement for victims of clergy sexual abuse.

His lawyers are expected to appeal the decision in the High Court, Australia's final arbiter.