He may now be transferred from the intake and evaluation facility at which he is currently being held to a different prison in Victoria.
Pell's lawyers have said that he will not petition for a shorter sentence.
A statement from the Australian archbishops' conference Wednesday said the bishops "believe all Australians must be equal under the law and accept today's judgement accordingly."
The statement also noted the Australian bishops' commitment to bringing healing to those who have suffered abuse and to ensuring Catholic spaces are always safe, especially for children and vulnerable adults.
Individual Australian bishops also released statements Wednesday, including Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, who said "reasonable people have taken different views when presented with the same evidence" in Pell's case, urging people "to maintain calm and civility."
"I know that there are many in the Catholic community and beyond who will find it difficult to come to terms with this judgment," Fisher said, "especially those who know the Cardinal and will struggle to reconcile this outcome with the man they know. I thank them for persevering in faith, hope and love."
"As we wait to hear whether the legal process will continue, I will seek to provide pastoral support to those Catholics who may have found their faith tested," the archbishop added.
The current Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter A. Comensoli, said in his statement that he knows "the complexity of the search for the truth in this matter has tested many, and may very well continue to do so."
He expressed his prayers and support for the man who brought the case against Pell before the courts, offering "pastoral and spiritual help, should he seek it."
Comensoli also said that he will ensure "Cardinal Pell is provided pastoral and spiritual support while he serves the remainder of his sentence, according to the teaching and example of Jesus to visit those in prison."
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.