Vatican cannot ignore George Pell with Royal Commission redacted papers release
In recent years, the Catholic Church has offered Cardinal Pell nothing but support. But the fresh Royal Commission findings shine an ugly light on just how deep the problem goes, writes Justin Smith.
Rendezview
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rendezview. Followed categories will be added to My News.
He knew. And we knew he knew. And I think he knew we knew he knew.
And so now we all know.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sex Abuse delivered its findings around George Pell to the Government in 2017. But they were redacted while the priest had his fair trials, just as they should have been.
Now we can see them. They are sickening, but they’re not shocking. Anyone who is shocked to discover that Pell was far more a part of the problem than he was the solution, has never spent any time reading or thinking about the history of abuse in the church.
What has been unredacted shows that Pell failed to do all that he could have to save children from being destroyed by the sickening creatures in his church, including the ones he openly supported.
For years, we couldn’t understand how the abuse happened to so many for so long. But in the last couple of decades, we’ve gotten an understanding. There were not just abusers, there were people that didn’t do enough to help. Lots of them.
The Royal Commission found that Pell was part of the mechanism that we as a society struggled to comprehend.
These are secrets that will be hard to read. And the Cardinal will continue to have people to defend him. These people are far too committed to turn back. They have walked out on the plank so far they’d rather die with the sharks than live on the ship.
I’ll gladly admit that I felt uncomfortable watching Pell shuffle away from jail. As much as I understand and respect the legal process, I still felt that natural justice was being lost and that there were things he still need to answer to.
So here it is. If you insist on respecting the decision of the High Court, then he must also accept the Royal Commission.
I would urge you to read the findings rather than just accept the words of commentators – me included. There’s a lot in those pages, and not all of it damns Pell. Some of it supports him, but not enough.
According to the Commission, his sins against children are mighty and, I think, unforgivable.
The Pope — who was so willing to defend Pell, while disgracefully attacking the man who made the allegations — must remove all gracious titles from the Cardinal and condemn him with the same passion with which he previousl embraced him. If he doesn’t, we’ll know that the situation remains normal at the Vatican.
Today, as I write this, I’m thinking about all the victims and their who are wondering if Pell could have stopped the things by others that ruined their lives.
They’ll never get the full answer. And the damage can never be fixed. The little bodies can never be unraped. The suicides can’t be made into life again. The alcohol and drugs can’t be put back into their containers.
Justin Smith is a 3AW presenter and columnist.
@justinsmith3AW
Originally published as Vatican cannot ignore George Pell with Royal Commission redacted papers release