Cardinal George Pell to be summoned to face charges of child sex abuse

[Paidiske]

At what point do we become concerned that this is the new strategy of the secular forces who oppose the morality of the Church? Or has that time already come and gone? Pro-choice groups, LGBT advocacy groups, etc. At any time all any of them have to do is level an accusation against a priest or a prelate who is in their way and their immoral cause gains more ground.

While that might be a reasonable big-picture question, I don't think it's what's going on here. (Bearing in mind I'm very close to Ballarat and I'm part of the wider network touched by these events). Whether or not Pell is innocent - and the people I know who know him (I personally never met him) swear that he probably is - the absolute trauma of the abuse crisis in Ballarat; the sheer numbers, the suicides, the institutional incompetence, and so forth, are more than enough to explain the over spilling of animus in this case. There's no need to go looking for a secular political agenda; this is boiling anger and incredible woundedness from within the Catholic community, looking for some way to find resolution.

Of course, even if Pell is found guilty and given the harshest sentence the law allows, it won't actually provide that resolution. I don't think anybody - in the church or out of it - actually knows how to work with healing these issues on this scale (or if they do, I see no evidence that anything is actually being done). We're all just muddling along and trying to find our way through an absolute horror.

 

[Open Heart]

The fact that Pope Francis said Pell will not receive special treatment makes Francis better than either of his two predecessors, one of whom I'm told is now a "saint."

But he IS receiving special treatment. Where is the Vatican investigation and trial?

 

[Phil 1:21]

But he IS receiving special treatment. Where is the Vatican investigation and trial?

Given the Vatican's history with such things, I would prefer they let secular authorities handle it.

 

[pdudgeon]

Abuse charges against Pell not good news for Vatican financial reform

makes one wonder if the homosexual lobby in the Vatican is making him the sacrificial lamb so as to put a stop to the financial reform...Abuse charges against Pell not good news for Vatican financial reform

 

[chevyontheriver]

makes one wonder if the homosexual lobby in the Vatican is making him the sacrificial lamb so as to put a stop to the financial reform...Abuse charges against Pell not good news for Vatican financial reform

I think the financial reform is necessary to clean out entrenched Vatican mafias like the Lavender Mafia among others. So of course they would want to shoot him down.

 

[Michie]

Cardinal Pell's situation may be unique, but there are plenty of parallels

 

[Michie]

Australian Police Charge Top Vatican Cardinal With Sexual Assault

 

[Open Heart]

Given the Vatican's history with such things, I would prefer they let secular authorities handle it.

Me too. My thing is HE NEEDS TO ATTEND the proceedings. From what I've read, he is saying he will go "to clear his name."

 

[Tomm]

Personally I think there's a strong homosexual lobby behind the Pell accusations. I may be wrong, but if he's innocent, then he should be found innocent, and if that's the case, those making false accusations should be charged.

I believe he's innocent and a false accusation has been made by enemies of the Church.

No Cookies | Herald Sun

 

[chevyontheriver]

I believe he's innocent and a false accusation has been made by enemies of the Church.

No Cookies | Herald Sun

I'm willing to wait and see. See if it is a kangaroo court or not, see if he is found guilty or not. Then I wonder if he will be called back, presuming he is cleared, to his Vatican post by Francis or not. But for now I just want a trial and a public record.

 

[Gnarwhal]

I'm willing to wait and see. See if it is a kangaroo court or not, see if he is found guilty or not. Then I wonder if he will be called back, presuming he is cleared, to his Vatican post by Francis or not. But for now I just want a trial and a public record.

I just hope that IF he is found innocent and the charges are, in fact, false, that whoever leveled the charges against him is made an example of.

First, false accusations can make life difficult for people who have legitimate claims. Second, the Church needs to stand up for herself and say, "yes SOME members of the clergy have committed heinous crimes against others in the past, but we will not abide false accusations against innocent clergy. The Church is still the de facto moral authority on this Earth and will not be subdued."

 

[Paidiske]

It won't be a kangaroo court. The Australian justice system is really very good.

 

[prodromos]

It won't be a kangaroo court. The Australian justice system is really very good.

(cough) Lindy Chamberlain (cough)

 

[Paidiske]

Really? You're going to raise one very unusual case from nearly 40 years ago to suggest that Cardinal Pell won't get a fair trial?

I don't pretend to know the details of the case. But the fact that charges have been laid means that the prosecution thinks it has a chance of proving them in court. This isn't just a witch hunt or a fabrication out of nothing; it wouldn't have got this far if it were.

 

[prodromos]

Really? You're going to raise one very unusual case from nearly 40 years ago to suggest that Cardinal Pell won't get a fair trial?

No, I'm just being facetious

 

[chevyontheriver]

It won't be a kangaroo court. The Australian justice system is really very good.

I hope so. It is the land of kangaroos and they have courts. Let them not be associated together. I would like to know that a verdict, whatever it is, is accurate.

 

[Paidiske]

Ironically, the term "kangaroo court" comes from America, despite them having no kangaroos...

 

[prodromos]

Ironically, the term "kangaroo court" comes from America, despite them having no kangaroos...

What? They've got no six foot tall, steel bucket crushing marsupuals?

 

[Rhamiel]

Worth a read
The hounding of Cardinal Pell: things Australia's liberal media don't want you to know | Coffee House

 

[Paidiske]

Some context to the article Rhamiel has linked; it talks about Derryn Hinch, but doesn't explain who he is. In the article it sounds like he's a journalist. In fact, he was a journalist, but currently he has been elected to the senate (the upper house) of Australia's federal parliament.

As a journalist, one of the issues which defined his work was his campaign against the sexual abuse of children. He went to prison for contempt of court in naming pedophiles whose names had been suppressed, something which he saw as a matter of personal integrity.

So I see his behaviour as described in this interview as a political move; his background and actions as a journalist made him incredibly popular, and that popularity got him elected. Now he is attempting to ride the wave of public feeling in order to boost his own popularity (and, presumably, votes at the next election).

It's true that the media here are not friends of the Cardinal. But it's not the media who are laying charges, and the legal system is much more impartial.