The ordeal of Cardinal George Pell, accused without proof of a crime impossible to commit and sentenced on two occasions in what more than a trial looked like a lynching, has finally ended. The seven (unanimous) judges of the High Court wrote in their conclusions: “There is a significant possibility in relation to the accusations that an innocent person has been sentenced.”
I believe it can be said with confidence that never in modern times in Western democracies can we speak with greater reason of persecution motivated by religion. If George Pell had not been a Catholic cardinal, at a time when popular hysteria against the Catholic Church is at its peak in Australia; if he had not been a man of the Church judged “conservative” and consequently an easy target of all progressive lobbies and the media subservient to them (does it remind you of something? the whole world is a country …), perhaps he would not have been chosen, targeted and trapped as a scapegoat for anger against abuse. And it must be said that the aplomb and the magnanimity with which he faced all this truly do him honor.
The low emotional participation of others arouses a little amazement. Take for example Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian bishops and archbishop of Brisbane. He said it is a sentence that “does not change the Church’s constant commitment to ensuring the safety of children and to giving a just and compassionate response to survivors and victims of child sexual abuse.” Speaking of the decision of the High Court, in a note published in comment Coleridge states that “this sentence will be welcomed with relief by many, by those who have always believed in the innocence of the cardinal throughout this process. But we also know that the High Court’s decision will be devastating for many others. Many suffered greatly in this process, which has now come to an end.”
Hence the assurance, on behalf of all Australian bishops, that the Australian Church will not fail in its commitment to ensure justice and protection of minors, reiterating once again the invitation to anyone who is the victim of sexual abuse by staff of the Church to “go to the police.” I mean: if one takes 400 days in prison for a charge that is probably false or invented a word of affection, do you mean it? Rather than appear sympathetic to the lynching crowd, or who launched a far-fetched accusation?
And if one expected that from the Vatican some extra dash of heat, well, he was wrong. “The Holy See, which has always placed its trust in the Australian judicial authority, welcomes the unanimous sentence pronounced by the High Court against Cardinal George Pell, which acquits him of the accusations of abuse of minors, revoking his sentence. Cardinal Pell – in referring to the judgment of the judiciary – has always reaffirmed his innocence, waiting for the truth to be ascertained. On this occasion, the Holy See reaffirms its commitment to preventing and prosecuting any abuse of minors.”
Cold, right? Never have the terms “ex officio,” “pragmatic,” “dutiful” seemed more appropriate … well, Cardinal George Pell hated a small crowd of prelates “handling money” in the Vatican, who had sworn at him for his strange requests for transparency and clarity on certain accounts abroad.
Comparisons are always hateful, we know that. But the same sympathy shown towards Bishop Piñeda Fasquelle, Maradiaga’s right hand in Tegucigalpa, forced to resign from a letter signed by dozens of seminarians molested, Pell perhaps could have demanded it.
Of course, not the understanding shown towards Bishop Zanchetta, on trial in Argentina and for which the Pontiff even created an assignment that never existed before. That Pell couldn’t have expected it! Pell had the courage to beat his fists on the table during the first Synod on the family …
The above comes from an April 8 story by Marco Tosatti in La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana (Italy).
Cardinal Pell never has been part of the “hive”: adulterous relationships, homosexual rights of James Martin, agenda of the Association of United States Catholic Priests and their bishop advisors, the profligate spenders at the Vatican, the German bishops’ new church, and on and on. He is faithful to the Church, so he was expendable to those who are trying to control it and direct it to their purposes. Thank God Pell lived his martyrdom to see his innocence rather than a vindication after the end of life on earth. His orthodoxy and fidelity are an example to me.
I agree with you Father Perozich. This could have been an opportunity for Francis to show a pastor’s heart to one who has been so grievously wronged. Instead his silence bellows up and down and across the world. Let us hope and pray Francis has a change of heart in this matter and rebukes Pell’s enemies in Australia, esp. the scoundrel Coleridge.
And, on this most holy day, the day we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection and victory over sin and death, the Pope makes international news by proposing an international minimum wage! And, this, after last week, linking this pandemic with nature’s being upset by human ambivalence about human-caused climate change! I pray that our Holy Father will speak clearly about matters of faith and morals, rather than economics, climatology and viruses. I pray he heeds the call of the Second Vatican Council that it is the role of the lay faithful to influence the temporal order, be it economics or public health, and not the job of the clergy.
Knowing too much about the corruption while investigating the Vatican bank can win one a whole lot enemies.
It is difficult for me to comprehend the massive corruption at so many levels in the Church. One can only imagine B XVI’s disgust at the “filth” in the Vatican. On this day of Christ’s Resurrection, how He must be weeping at seeing what His Church has become.
Mark Coleridge worried about the many abused who will suffer great pain because of the High Court’s decision to exonerate Cardinal Pell, because the trial and conviction of Pell was a traumatic process for them. How strange, since there was only one person who accused him. All other alleged, hoped for accusers denied they had ever been abused by the Cardinal. The conviction of Pell was such a kangaroo court (maybe appropriate for Australia) process that one of the judges protested the conviction. The High Court was clear that they unanimously considered the evidence grossly unbelievable and conviction absurd and untenable and overturned the lower court’s kangaroo decision. So, what is the basis of the pain, Coleridge, et al? It’s a patent lie on the face of it. After the truly outrageous Mccarrick scandal (who voted for two popes), one sees how deeply ensconced the Church is with the dregs of the pedophilia and homosexual mafia and their power. And, one should take their concern for the abused seriously? Of course they would give Cardinal Pell the cold shoulder; he’s not one of them, thank God.
Praying that after this whole world crisis dear Cardinal Pell will be a leader for the Church for faithful Catholics because his imprisonment reminds me of the early Christians, and he will be able to show what it means to love your enemies and what Our Lord endured. I for one am glad he is released, ( and can’t express in words), ttthe whole thing was a farce. Praise the Lord, Alleluia!
Praying that somehow Pell gets to be the next Pope so that he can finish the job he started.
He knows too much. He got too close. He’s way too smart.
Ergo, Pell’s troubles are not yet over. Invest in bodyguards and lawyers…canon lawyers.
Many, especially the laity, are unaware that the Church, especially at higher level, has factions much the same as political parties. Generally, though not always, those who stand at the traditional half of rubric and practice find themselves politely but firmly ignored in many matters of substance. The idolization of current secular trends such as climate, energy, redistribution etc, are all the rage, never mind there is little science to support them. Still, as they are more interesting and garner more public approval than three thousand year old traditions that require a continuity of believe and adherence to norms, they are at the forefront of publicity given to their musings. Seems the line between the sacred and the secular grows ever dimmer for those who see that Church as little more than another political activity albeit in a somewhat classier dress.