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Andrew Bolt ‘appalled’ by rejection of George Pell’s appeal bid

Controversial columnist Andrew Bolt has again doubted George Pell’s victims, saying their account of abuse “makes no logical sense”.

Phoebe LoomesPhoebe Loomes
@dollyybird
3 min read
August 21, 2019 - 1:10PM
Andrew Bolt reacts to Pell conviction

There has been a strong reaction to the court’s rejection of George Pell’s appeal of his guilty sentence to child sex offences, but the disgraced cardinal still has his supporters.

Controversial columnist Andrew Bolt has written in his blog for the Herald Sun that he is “appalled” by the dismissal of Pell’s appeal.

Pell, one of Australia’s most high profile Catholics, and the former treasurer for the Vatican, was convicted of five charges of sexually assaulting choirboys in December last year. The five charges included the rape of one choirboy, 13, and sexual assault of another at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996.

Bolt, a Melbourne-based columnist who has previously expressed his cynicism over the victim’s accounts, said there were a number of “improbabilities” in the case.

“Even if Pell could physically have been in the sacristy, in time, and without being seen, and physically done these attacks, how insane would he have to be to do all this, attack two boys he didn’t know, in an open room in a busy cathedral?” Bolt wrote on his Herald Sun blog after today’s verdict.

“A man like that, with no past record of abuse?

“It makes no logical sense that Pell attacked these boys as described.”

Andrew Bolt said he was ‘appalled’ by the dismissal of George Pell’s appeal bid. Picture: Andrew Henshaw
Andrew Bolt said he was ‘appalled’ by the dismissal of George Pell’s appeal bid. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Two of the three Supreme Court judges took a different view to Bolt’s, saying the victim who gave evidence was “believable”.
Chief Anne Justice Ferguson denied that argument, telling the court the survivor was “clearly not a liar”.

“Justice Maxwell and I accepted the prosecution’s submission that the complainant was a compelling witness, was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist and was a witness of truth,” she said.

Victim’s rights advocates and sex abuse survivors, meanwhile, have reacted with jubilation to the news Pell would remain behind bars.

Crowds cheered outside court as his bid to have his convictions overturned was rejected this morning.

“This is one of the greatest moments now, and our children are more protected than ever,” a victim’s right’s campaigner said outside the court today.

“It is a glorious day for us and survivors everywhere. It’s just wonderful.”

The father of one of Pell’s victims also appeared in court today and as the appeal was dismissed, he was “smiling broadly”, according to reports.

Before the decision was handed out this morning, anxious journalists and broadcasters tweeted images of crowds and disputes between protesters.

Writer, TV personality and former actor Marieke Hardy said she sent her “love and solidarity” to people affected by the appeal, before the decision was handed down.

After Pell’s appeal was dismissed, a journalist inside the court said the cardinal looked broken by the news.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called for Pell to be stripped of his Order of Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his honours would be stripped.

“My understanding is that this (appeal loss) would result in the stripping of the honours that are decided externally to the government,” Mr Morrison said.

“That is a process that is done independently, and that course will now follow.”

Actor Magda Szubanski thanked victim’s rights advocate Chrissie Foster, who has been a vocal critic of Pell, after she was disappointed with the church’s response to her own children being abused.

The New York Times called the upholding of the conviction a symptom of the Catholic Church’s “child sex abuse crisis”.

Pell arrived at Victoria’s Supreme Court in Melbourne earlier this morning, swiftly exiting a white van and handcuffed, entering the building with a guard.

“I think today is going to be explosive. There’s no doubt about that. We’re in for a shocking day,” abuse survivor Michael Advocate told AAP outside the court.

The father of a man who died, who was found to be one of Pell’s victims, had a sleepless night ahead of Wednesday’s decision, his lawyer Lisa Flynn, told Melbourne radio 3AW.

Cardinal George Pell leaving the Supreme Court following his appeal hearing in June. Picture: Erik Anderson
Cardinal George Pell leaving the Supreme Court following his appeal hearing in June. Picture: Erik Anderson
The appeal court handed down its decision on August 21. Picture: Andy Brownbill
The appeal court handed down its decision on August 21. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Another abuse advocate, Robert House, said he’d been concerned about the outcome of Pell’s appeal.

He said if it was successful, it could discourage other survivors from coming forward to report their abuse.

— with AAP

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/glorious-day-world-reacts-to-rejection-of-george-pells-appeal-bid/news-story/ae2aa3536b0cf86d3590e6409e4a3f39