George Pell to go down as most disgraced priest in Australian history
George Pell was led into court yesterday morning as a sex offender, a prisoner and a disgrace to the Catholic Church — and left exactly the same way. But is this how the story ends for a man who was once among the Vatican’s most powerful figures?
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George Pell looks set to go down as the most disgraced priest in Australian history.
There have been worse offenders, but none as senior as Pell have ever been convicted of such serious crimes and jailed.
Pell entered court yesterday desperately hoping a court of law would clear him of any wrongdoing.
He would have known full well that even if they had, in the public’s mind he would never be an innocent man.
Sources say he wasn’t confident, but remained ever hopeful.
He has maintained his innocence since being charged in June 2017, and vowed to prove that innocence.
For decades Pell has polarised the public as he climbed to the highest ranks of the Catholic Church to take his seat as the Vatican’s third most powerful figure.
Even among his most fierce supporters there are those who openly criticise him.
His tough stance against same-sex marriage, contraception, and abortion — dubbing the latter “a worse moral scandal than priests sexually abusing young people” — angered many.
The public at large, and many inside the church, found his conservative views unfathomable.
But he was never one to be swayed by public opinion.
Sexual assault victims have long blamed Pell for all the wrongs of the church.
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His supporters say he worked tirelessly to implement change when he became Archbishop of Melbourne, and believe he was frustrated by a sense of powerlessness to act sooner.
His critics say he could have, and should have, done more earlier.
He has been repeatedly forced to deny claims he has been complicit in the church’s cover-up.
He was accused of failing to take reports of abuse seriously while a young priest, helping shuffle paedophile priests between parishes as a bishop’s adviser, and trying to buy the silence of one of Gerald Ridsdale’s victims.
His support for Ridsdale, one of the Australian church’s worst ever child sex offenders, during a court appearance in the 1990s has plagued Pell’s career and public perception since.
When he was charged in 2017 Pell faced 26 charges over allegations of abusing nine boys.
He now stands convicted of five charges relating to the assault of two choirboys.
There have been other allegations too, though none proven.
Still to come are civil actions against Pell already in motion in the Supreme Court, and more are expected to follow.
And then there will be the findings of the Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
>>READ THE SUMMARY OF THE DECISION BELOW
Pell appeared before the commission three times, and was openly criticised for his performances.
Findings into his appearances have been redacted pending the outcome of his criminal trial, but are expected to be damning when they are released.
And of course there is the question of whether or not yesterday’s decision is appealed to the High Court which could drag the matter on for a considerable amount of time.
Pell’s legal team will carefully assess yesterday’s full decision, that runs in excess of 300 pages, before deciding whether to try their luck in the High Court.
It is Pell’s last hope to prove his maintained innocence.
READ MORE:
THE RISE AND FALL OF GEORGE PELL
TEN THINGS PELL HOPED WOULD PROVE HIS INNOCENCE
If he doesn’t, he will almost surely be laicised and live out his final days as a disgraced former cardinal.
It is a stunning fall from grace for the boy from Ballarat who rose to become one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church.