Posted on 03/13/2019 5:35:49 AM PDT by BipolarBob
Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Vatican official to be convicted of sex abuse to date, has been sentenced to six years in prison
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I don’t normally post articles. I hope I did it correctly. I thought this newsworthy and have not seen it posted.
Isn’t Pell the one that was exposing problems with the ‘finances’ in the Vatican ?
“Isn’t Pell the one that was exposing problems with the ‘finances’ in the Vatican ?”
Yes, and he was found innocent at his first trial. In his second trial — a travesty — he was found guilty, but this is being appealed.
In the meantime, he’s in solitary, and forbidden to say mass in his cell even for himself.
I couldn’t say for sure on that but I believe all he exposed was himself.
To all adults that were raped as a child...6 years is a slap in the face. People live with the memory of being violated for their whole life and it distorts their perspective on humans in general. Hopefully this guy gets his real payback in prison.
One of the abused committed suicide so six years seems inadequate for that. As far as payback, the government said he will be in protective custody to prevent harm from others.
and he was found innocent at his first trial.
Not true either. He wasn't found innocent, it ended in a hung jury. Not the same thing as innocent.
"Surprise decision exposes tensions between church’s old guard and supporters of financial reform, led by George Pell"
Yes, I understand he was appointed to lead the investigation but something prompted the audit (which was suspended for less than honorable intentions) before Pell came on the scene.
Pell's trial was a sham; just has this French priest's ordeal was:
What proof is there that the 'victim' committed suicide BECAUSE of the original incident ? I mean, he waited 20 years to commit suicide ? Doesn't make sense.
Why is it that the one victim who denies it happened commits suicide, while the other victim is allowed to 'testify' via SKYPE ? Weren't these boys (victims) caught drinking wine in the sacristy ?
Most of the abused were reluctant to come forth. Shame and embarrassment aid these molesters to continue. May Gods righteous judgement shine a light on these deeds.
Australia is a very secular country, generally more left-leaning. Their media organ is even to the left of ours. I’m not certain that any high-profile Christian figure could expect a fair trial in that environment. The fact that the judge felt that a gag order on the media was necessary to maintain an untainted jury pool might be indicative of the environment, although I’m not sure if that’s a common occurrence in Australia for any high-profile trial? Apparently requesting a bench trial is not an option in the Australian legal system.
Perception of clerical abuse and altar boy jokes have become part of the season zeitgeist of our time. I’d hate to be an innocent cleric on trial, because the prevailing mood is one of hostility. There is a large portion of the populace that would pull the lever for “guilty” in a purely reactionary manner.
Not to those who have not been abused as a child by an authority figure, it wouldn't.
I hope that is not the case. Most of these come down to "he said" and another said something else. Most of the victims have been hesitant to relive the event or draw attention to their shame. I certainly would not want an innocent man to be accused or jailed. I do not have any more insight than what the news sources indicate.
Were there eye witnesses to the alleged abuse? Was there forensic evidence? In a case which goes back this far in time, what exactly is presented as hard evidence in court? There has to be more than simply the word of an accuser. To this point I've seen nothing which indicates that exact nature of the evidence against Pell.
I believe Australia at least gives lip service to the dictum of "innocent until proven guilty" but I'm not sure that this applied in this case.
We are in agreement. I think in Pells case it is the volume of accusations going back to the 60s that weighs against him. He always beat the rap though. But when these things trail you from place to place, it looks bad. real bad.
Note: Supposedly this occurred during a period of eight minutes immediately after Mass. The prosecution didn't address ANY of the 20 or 25 (I don't remember which number is right) pieces of exculpatory evidence that the defense presented. Also, there were no witnesses for the prosecution, no evidence from the prosecution.
1) Accuser: The boys left the procession after Mass to go to the sacristy.
Witnesses: No one left the procession. It was a solemn procession and someone would have noticed choirboys leaving. They didn't.
2) Accuser: Cardinal Pell left the procession and caught them in the sacristy.
Witnesses: Cardinal Pell was ***leading*** the procession, and it would have been totally obvious to everyone in the cathedral if he had left. He didn't.
3) Accuser: Cardinal Pell caught them drinking communion wine.
Witnesses: Communion wine was locked up in a safe. Only the sacristan had a key.
4) Accuser: He specified that they were drinking red wine.
Witesses: They didn't use red wine at the cathedral -- they only used white.
5) Accuser: Cardinal Pell blocked the door and they couldn't escape.
Witnesses: There is no door to the sacristy at the cathedral. It's an open room with multiple huge arches that open into it.
6) Accuser: Cardinal Pell closed the door so no one could see what was going on.
Witnesses: Because there is no door, only open arches along a hallway, anyone walking past in the hallway could see into the sacristy. Pell wouldn't have been able to hide what was going on.
7) Accuser: Cardinal Pell parted his vestments in front and exposed himself.
Witnesses: It's impossible to part the vestments at all because they're seamless.
8) Accuser(changing his story): Cardinal Pell pulled his vestments to the side.
Witnesses: It's impossible to pull the vestments to the side because they're heavy, layered, and cinctured so that they can't move during Mass.
9) Accuser: Cardinal Pell raped them while wearing the vestments.
Witnesses: The wearer of these vestments can't even go to the bathroom in them, let alone rape someone in them. Again, they're heavy, layered, and cinctured into place, to where the wearer needs to be helped out of them; they can't do it alone.
10) Witnesses: Both boys were altos in the choir and required to attend a practice session immediately after Mass for a recording they were going to make. If the boys had been late or hadn't shown up, they would have been missed and rehearsal couldn't have proceeded. Those in charge would have had to have gone looking for the boys. Nobody did, because they weren't missing.
11) Witnesses: A sacristy is an incredibly busy place immediately after Mass. All sorts of people are coming in and out. They're bringing things into the sacristy from the church that need to be put back, such as missals and altar cloths. They're bringing sacred vessels back that need to be cleaned and purified. They're helping each other remove their vestments. It was impossible for Cardinal Pell to be alone after Mass in the sacristy. (The judge refused to allow a video simulation of what takes place in a sacristy immediately following Mass as evidence for the defense. I haven't seen reported what his reason was.)
My note: If they were crying and upset like they said -- anyone who would have undergone that horrific experience would have been -- the choirmaster and other choirboys would have noticed. They acted normally and showed up on time, which would have been impossible if they had been raped.
This is all that I remember right now. It was impossible for him to have done it, and even his enemies are saying he didn't get a fair trial. I hope the appeal takes place soon.
Well, this took place (or didn’t take place) twenty something years ago and the children were under duress and felt shame. I wouldn’t expect their testimony to be perfect but I have no special insight on this particular incident other than what the news sources report. IF Cardinal Pell is innocent, I hope he goes free.
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