The Case Against Pell: New Details Emerge

Catholic News Agency ^ | 12/17/18 | Ed Condon

[marshmallow]

Washington D.C., Dec 17, 2018 / 06:05 pm (CNA).- Following the conviction of Cardinal George Pell in the Australian state of Victoria last week, new details have emerged about the nature of the crimes for which he has been found guilty.

Pell was found guilty Dec. 11 on five charges of sexual abuse of minors, following accusations that he sexually assaulted two former members of the Melbourne cathedral choir.

A sweeping court injunction prevents the nature of the accusations, the progress of the case, or the even the result of the trial from being discussed by the media in Australia.

Despite the gag order, CNA has spoken to several individuals who attended Pell’s trial in person, as well as others present for pre-trial hearings in early 2018.

During the March preliminary hearings, the defense petitioned for the allegations against Pell to be heard in two separate trials, the first concerning the accusations of the Melbourne choristers, and the second related to allegations from Pell’s time as a priest in Ballarat. Other charges Pell faced were dropped during the pre-trial committal hearings.

Sources say that five counts of sexual abuse were allegedly committed by Pell against the two choristers immediately following a 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass in Melbourne’s cathedral. Pell is accused of abusing both choir members in the same incident.

Only one of the alleged victims was present in court to give evidence against Pell. The other alleged victim, according a 2017 report from The Australian newspaper The Age, died of a drug overdose in 2014.

Before his death, the deceased man reportedly told his mother at least twice that he had not been a victim of sexual abuse. The other former choir member reportedly told the deceased man’s mother only after the man died that both had been abused........

[ebb tide]

After guilty verdict, questions raised about Pell trial

[sparklite2]

Interesting that it took over half an hour for the first comment in the thread. After reading the article and granting that the source may be biased, it still looks to me like, for the instances he’s being tried, there wasn’t enough reliable evidence for a conviction. It’s so flimsy, I wonder what is being left out.

[ebb tide]

Cardinal Pell Felled by Abuse Claims — But Are They Credible?

[ebb tide]

The inexplicable conviction of Cardinal Pel

Cardinal Pell’s sex abuse conviction makes no sense

Yet Pope Francis fully respects the jury's decision. Pell was getting too deep into Francis' and Maradiaga's financial corruption.

[Slyfox]

Frankie was probably hoping that Cardinal Pell would take the heat off of him.

[Campion]

Before his death, the deceased man reportedly told his mother at least twice that he had not been a victim of sexual abuse. The other former choir member reportedly told the deceased man’s mother only after the man died that both had been abused........

How does someone get convicted of a crime "beyond a reasonable doubt" when

• There is no physical evidence
• There is no contemporary documentary evidence
• The alleged victim is dead
• The victim's last known comment on the situation is to tell his own mother *twice* that it never happened
• The only "evidence" is the testimony of _one_ individual who alleges that he was there

[Buckeye McFrog]

And what exactly do you think is going to happen here if potential jurors continue to watch the Vatican weave and bob and evade on this issue?

The presumption of innocence will pretty much disappear.

[Svartalfiar]

Sources say that five counts of sexual abuse were allegedly committed by Pell against the two choristers immediately following a 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass in Melbourne’s cathedral. Pell is accused of abusing both choir members in the same incident.

Ignoring a lot of the oddities in the case, here's one I haven't seen mentioned: this only happened once? To just these two guys? Almost every similar case I've ever seen is either a) ongoing abuse/harassment, or b) several victims over a longer time span. Or, usually, a combination of a and b.