Dutton says Pell’s conviction a ‘political persecution’, singles out Andrews government

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called George Pell’s overturned child sex conviction a “modern-day political persecution”, saying the Andrews government should reflect on how Victoria’s legal institutions gave rise to the former cardinal’s 404-day imprisonment.

Dutton’s damning comments contrasted with those made earlier on Wednesday by Anthony Albanese, the Catholic prime minister who offered condolences to mourners but stopped short of paying tribute to the late church leader.

Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Dutton – who praised Pell as “an important intellectual figure and a towering presence”, in line with tributes from along former Liberal prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott – said the late cardinal defended federal funding of Catholic schools in the 2000s and upheld Christian ideals.

“On his passing, the fact he spent a year in prison for a conviction that the High Court of Australia unanimously quashed should provide some cause for reflection for the Victorian Labor Government and its institutions that led this modern-day political persecution,” he said in a written statement released on Wednesday afternoon. He provided no more detail to substantiate his assertions.

“Pell never lost faith in his God, his country, and in justice – despite the tests and trials he endured in life.”

The office of Victoria’s Catholic premier Daniel Andrews declined to respond to Dutton’s statement and referred to quotes given by Victorian minister Steve Dimopoulos at a press conference on Wednesday morning.

“Today would be a very difficult day for the cardinal’s family and loved ones but also a very difficult for survivors and victims of child sexual abuse and their families and my thoughts are with them,” Dimopoulos said.

Andrews has not put out a statement about Pell’s death.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, also a Catholic, released a brief statement on Wednesday afternoon offering his condolences, but did not pay tribute to Pell or mention his time in prison.

“Many will be shocked and saddened by the death of Cardinal Pell. This will be a difficult day for people across our state and country, for those of Catholic faith and for many others,” Perrottet said.

“I understand there will be a service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, with details to be confirmed in due course. My thoughts and condolences for all those people mourning Cardinal Pell’s passing today.“

Speaking in the hours after Pell’s passing was announced, Albanese said he passed on his condolences to Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher. When asked, he did not guarantee he would attend Pell’s funeral, the date of which has not yet been set.

“Of course, this will come as a shock to many. This was a hip operation. The consequences of it, unfortunately, have been that Cardinal Pell has lost his life. And I express my condolences to all those who will be mourning today,” Albanese said.

Howard and Abbott, who were both friends and unwavering defenders of Pell, shared Dutton’s view that Pell was wrongly persecuted by Victoria’s police and courts. Howard said in a statement that the allegations were not strong enough to substantiate charges, while Abbott claimed Pell’s “incarceration on charges that the High Court ultimately scathingly dismissed was a modern form of crucifixion”.

Catholic Cardinal George Pell.Credit: James Alcock

”In his own way, by dealing so equably with a monstrous allegation, he strikes me as a saint of our time,” Abbott wrote in his statement.

Bob Katter, the Queensland micro-party founder and federal member for Kennedy who has long argued that Australia’s Christians are persecuted, said that the mission of “this good and powerful but not always likeable man” had been cut short “by a bunch of pygmies led by the likes of Dan Andrews”.

Pell’s two-year legal battle was the subject of intense debate.

His lawyer Robert Richter accused Victoria Police in court of running a “get Pell operation” and assuming he was guilty as it investigated complaints against him. The well-known barrister claimed police actively looked for a crime when no crimes had been reported and suggested the investigation was given a higher priority in April 2015 due to the royal commission and heightened public awareness about clergy abuse. Police denied doing so.

The former financial controller of the Vatican was unanimously found guilty “beyond reasonable doubt” of five child sexual offences in 2018. Two out of three Victoria Court of Appeal judges found it was open for the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt the accused was guilty and one did not.

But in April 2020, the High Court overturned the conviction after finding the jury, based on the evidence presented, should have entertained a reasonable doubt even though the jury found the alleged victim to be credible.

There was “a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof”, the court found.

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