George Pell: Demolition of reputation is complete

George Pell is escorted in handcuffs from the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne today, sent back to jail after the court rejected his landmark appeal against convictions for child sex abuse. Picture: William West/AFP

The destruction of what was left of George Pell’s reputation took only a couple of minutes.

Clearly and stridently, Chief Justice Anne Ferguson demolished any hope of Pell leaving prison early to rebuild his life and place in the church.

Pell’s legacy is fundamentally cooked.

He may not even live through the incarceration.

A thick fog of bewilderment descended on court 15 today as Ferguson detailed the split decision and the firm belief of two of the judges that the complainant was compelling and told the truth.

This has been the pattern of the Pell convictions.

When the former choirboy gave videolink evidence in the first County Court trial, word quickly spread that the prosecution had a man that a jury could believe.

The second jury was unanimous in its belief in the choirboy.

Even if the facts of the case had looked at times somewhat questionable, it was the victim that carried this case and sent Pell to jail.

Today was crushing for Pell in so many ways.

No matter what may happen in any High Court action, he cannot recover his reputation, even if he is freed some time in 2020 or 2021.

Instead, he will be heading soon to a country prison for sex offenders, after already having spent nearly six months in jail.

If anything today, there was a degree of lightness around the Pell camp before the judgment was delivered.

Whether this was built on faith or guesswork, it is hard to tell.

But for more than two years now, Pell’s closest supporters have been optimistic that the sex abuse charges would collapse. One way or another.

There is no doubt that Pell’s legal team believed stridently in his cause and probably still do.

They will take some solace from the fact there was a dissenting judge and especially a judge who is considered an expert in the criminal field.

Justice Mark Weinberg was not convinced about the victim’s evidence, finding that the complainant was inclined at times to embellish aspects of his account.

If the defence opts for a High Court challenge, which seems likely, they will be fuelled in part by Weinberg’s dissent.

A close look of the cathedral sex abuse evidence certainly raises questions about the plausibility of the attacks.

These questions are not erased by today’s judgment.

But the reality is that a County Court jury and now the Court of Appeal has ruled against Pell.

This creates, in brutal terms, a cost and opportunity for the Catholic Church.

Its historically most significant leader is now jailed for a minimum of three years and eight months, with a greatly diminished opportunity of walking early.

The brand damage to the church is profound. It will have a decades long impact.

But it at least gives the church a starting point for rehabilitation.

As long as 78-year-old Pell has been fighting these charges, and the doubt about their validity has lingered, the case has held back the church.

It now has a platform for renewal on the abuse question.

None of this is to paint over the weeping sadness of this story.

The lives of two choirboys were devastated.

The greatest career in the Australian church in smoking ruins. Millions of Catholics wondering when, or if, it will all end.

The hands of Cardinal George Pell as he leaves the Supreme Court of Victoria in June this year. His appeal against his conviction for sex abuse was dismissed today. Picture: Erik Anderson/AAP