George Pell sentenced: Cardinal did not recoil as his jail term was handed down

“If Cardinal Pell could be taken away,’’ concluded Justice Peter Kidd. After 70 minutes, the destruction of his reputation was complete.

Cardinal George Pell, 77, kept his cool for the entire 70 minutes he was in the dock today.

The destruction of George Pell’s reputation is all but complete.

Close to 200 people in the court room turned today to watch the frail, shell of a cardinal sign the sex offenders’ register after a humiliating hour where his depravity in the cathedral was broadcast live to the world.

Pell, the good judge found, had acted with venom.

He was brazen, degrading and nasty, had shown “staggering arrogance’’ and for his sins he would quite possibly die in jail.

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Pell may well be out in three years and eight months but if it weren’t for his age and poor health, there is a fair chance that his sentence would have been significantly longer.

“Like anyone in their late 70s, your health will decline in time,’’ Chief Judge Peter Kidd told him.

“I am conscious that the term of imprisonment, which I am about to impose upon you, carries with it a real, as distinct from theoretical, possibility that you may not live to be released from prison.

“Facing jail at your age in these circumstances must be an awful state of affairs for you.’’

Pell, 77, kept his cool for the entire 70 minutes he was in the dock.

Chief Judge Peter Kidd sentences George Pell sentence at the Victorian County Cour. Picture: ABC

Dressed in a black open neck shirt without his clerical collar, the cardinal barely spoke, except for a brief “thank you’’ and “beg your pardon’’ as the court staff and one of his lawyers helped him through the sex offenders’ registery paperwork.

As Judge Kidd spoke for a solid hour, Pell did not shift his look. It was gun barrel straight towards the judge as Kidd read from a prepared statement.

The statement was horrific for Pell’s legacy, outlining as it did the jury’s view that cardinal (as he remains) had brutally sexually assaulted two 13-year-old choirboys in 1996 and 1997 at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Kidd excoriated Pell for his behaviour.

“In my view, your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance,’’ he said.

“I consider that the sexual penetration offence is very clearly a serious example of that offence.’’

In previous court appearances, Pell’s eyes have wandered across the room but today he focused almost entirely on his destiny, blinking regularly but trying not to engage visually with anyone else.

He did not recoil when his sentence was handed down and was virtually expressionless when Kidd outlined his behaviour during each offence.

Cardinal George Pell talks with the media at the Vatican in June 2017.

Of the sexual penetration offence, Kidd said: “In my view, it does not even appear low-end offending.’’

Through the sentencing, Pell was surrounded in the court by five prison officers, three security guards and two police.

But in the end, it was clear the big man was going nowhere in a hurry, weighed down by his double pacemaker, high blood pressure and two replacement knees.

He did not react when Kidd handed down his sentence and walked unaided when the judge said from the bench: “If Cardinal Pell could be taken away.’’

Pell’s only chance of redemption lies with the Court of Appeal in June but it’s hard to see him ever recovering from today’s global humiliation.

One can only wonder what Pope Francis is thinking.

Cardinal George Pell departs after his first court appearance in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in July 2017.