Guilty in court of public opinion
And now George Pell has been found guilty in an actual court
Parts of the media, especially the ABC, are hailing the conviction of Cardinal George Pell as an indication of our justice system at its finest, just as the media hailed the conviction of Lindy Chamberlain in 1982. However, both cases have disturbing similarities. Both were the subject of extensive pre-trial media reports and the public took sides passionately. There were no third-party witnesses to the alleged crimes in either case.
Chamberlain was widely criticised for showing no emotion during her trial and George Pell has been criticised for seeming to have no empathy for victims.
While Chamberlain copped enormous public disapproval, it paled into insignificance against the hatred shown towards Pell in parts of the media for years. In each case, no juror in Australia could have possibly sat in judgment without being aware of the pre-trial media reports.
In both cases, the guilty verdict was greeted with sheer disbelief by many on the basis of evidence given at trial.
Chamberlain was eventually found to be innocent of the crime. Pell has now appealed his conviction.
The Chamberlain verdict simply demonstrates that the jury is out on whether trial by jury is justice best served where the accused has been found guilty by the general public before they enter the dock.
The disgrace of the Catholic Church rolls on with the conviction of Cardinal George Pell. The key question for me is, what in heaven and more pointedly on earth, has God been doing allowing his priests to abuse little children and then persecute them when they tried to tell someone? All the suffering has redeemed who, or what? I guess the faithful will be asked to accept the same tired old answer about his unknowable and infinite wisdom. For me, it only reinforces the conviction that “He” doesn’t exist.
At long last the secrecy surrounding Cardinal George Pell’s actual charges and outcome can be made public. What is needed is a prison sentence commensurate with the seriousness of his behaviour and constant denial over many years.
Two thousand years ago there was a trial in Jerusalem and a carpenter from Galilee was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by crucifixion. During the trial the defendant brought up the matter of truth and this was dismissed by the judge with the cynical question, “And what is the truth?” The law is not concerned with truth but whether a law has been broken. George Pell has been found guilty by a jury based on what they heard in court. Pell broke the law. Whether or not anyone has spoken the truth would therefore be irrelevant. And that’s the world in which we live. And that’s how justice is done.
The news that George Pell has been found guilty of historical sexual abuse charges will shock all Catholics and make them aware that clericalism and the sacerdotalism imbued in the clergy, via their training, is the new heresy within the Catholic Church.
It’s about time our judges were made aware that due to technology, most of their draconian suppression orders on the press are now meaningless. Take the case of George Pell. Five minutes after his guilty verdict was announced, the world knew via the internet, resulting in the Pope disappearing him from the cardinals’ power group and the Vatican Bank. However, it took over two months for the news of his guilt to be “officially” disseminated in this country. Big Brother really rules here.
Why are so many freshly disgusted by the vile descriptions of the offences George Pell has been found guilty of? The past 10 years have been filled with graphic descriptions of these crimes committed by the Catholic Church.
Let’s not forget the hundreds of thousands of generous, selfless and unblemished clergy steadfastly faithful to Christ around the world.
Two thousand years ago, another court found Jesus guilty.
Thanks Julia.
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