It’s reported this evening that Cardinal George Pell is the subject of a twelve month investigation by Victoria Police over allegations of child sexual abuse, dating from the time he was a priest to when he became Archbishop of Melbourne.
Pell has issued a furious statement, demanding an investigation into Victoria Police leakages, and denying the allegations. The full transcript of this statement is in the above link.
In his statement Pell refers to an allegation of sexual molestation made against him in 2002, referred to as the Philip Island allegation. This series of alleged incidents with one complainant was the subject of a church inquiry, headed by retired Victorian Supreme Court Judge A.J. Southwell, who was selected and paid by the church to conduct the inquiry, within terms of reference set by the church. Southwell found that both Pell and the complainant appeared to be speaking the truth, and he could not find substantial grounds to proceed with the complaint.
Pell claims to have been “exonerated” by this inquiry, however a Sydney Morning Herald editorial saw it otherwise:
Mr Southwell’s conclusion is exquisitely balanced. He accepts “that the complainant, when giving evidence of molesting, gave the impression that he was speaking honestly from an actual recollection”. However, he says Dr Pell “also gave me the impression he was speaking the truth”. A significant part of Mr Southwell’s report concerns the standard of proof; because he considered what was alleged against Dr Pell as serious, he was inclined to apply a strict burden, akin to the “beyond reasonable doubt” of criminal proceedings. That helped Dr Pell. It also made Mr Southwell’s careful conclusion – that he could not be “satisfied that the complaint has been established” – rather less than a complete exoneration.
It’s not known if the allegations currently under investigation by Victoria Police include this one. They are referred to as “numerous” in initial reports, as well as having occurred throughout a considerable time frame, as Pell worked his way up the church hierarchy from priest to Archbishop.
Victoria Police have also issued a statement this evening, saying they do not comment on specific allegations.
In case anyone has forgotten how ruthless Pell has been in his pursuit of child sex abuse survivors who’ve attempted to obtain justice, it’s worth re-reading the John Ellis case in which Pell’s legal team managed to obtain the verdict that victims can’t sue the Catholic church (it doesn’t exist in law) or the trustees (who aren’t responsible for supervising priests) but only the offending priest (dead) or the offending priest’s supervising bishop (also dead). Pell also instructed his lawyers to pursue Ellis for costs.
Pell, confessor and mentor to sacked Prime Minister Tony Abbott, is now safe in the Vatican, beyond the threat of extradition treaties.
I wonder how those who leapt to Pell’s defence after Tim Minchin’s protest song are feeling right now.
Of course we can’t possibly comment on Pell’s guilt or innocence. It is interesting, however, that Victoria Police have seen fit to devote twelve months of their time so far, to investigating complaints.
Thanks to my good Twitter friend Comrade Nick for this image of Anthony Hopkins in the role of Hannibal Lecter. Again, I can’t possibly comment.
No Place For Sheep 
Over at Loon Pond, Dorothy Parker has a bit of fun at Prattling Polonius’s (Gerard Henderson’s) expense, especially since he’ll mostly slam anyone but News Ltd.
http://loonpond.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/in-which-conspiratorial-murdochian.html#.VsebGHAQT5c
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An interesting little curiosity of the relatively extensive quote of Gerard Henderson contained within the blog post to which you have linked is Henderson’s referencing of former Archbishop of Melbourne Daniel Mannix as being the focus of the only comparable anti-catholic sentiment to that now claimed to be surrounding Pell, over the years 1917-1921.
The curiosity resides in the name of the Age journalist who wrote the article to which Jennifer’s first text link delivers the reader, Liam Mannix.
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Presuming nothing, other than that the surname Mannix was acquired by way of marriage, but wondering could Liam be her son?
http://onlineopinion.com.au/author.aspid=2831
I found the second article listed, in terms of it being a warning by an insider, particularly interesting.
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That’s an error 404 Forrest.
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I shall try again
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp?id=2831
I get really irritated when the Wordpus pane overrides my formatting!
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Henderson has never been right about anything, so far as I can recall, in forty years.
It’s no surprise he’s wrong now.
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Bwahahahahahahaha he’s been wrong for that long – I’m not surprised.
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That post is excellent & Henderson really is a pratt. thanks for linking, gorgeousdunny
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I remain a fan of Tim Minchin, however, at first, I was dismayed with some of the words in his song about Pell.
I considered the years that have passed; while children continued to be molested, the Catholic Church continued to hide from accountability, the frequent arrogance of Pell regarding women’s contribution to the church, though to his denial of knowledge regarding a horror that extended through out the Catholic ministry.
And now this, accusations of abuse leveled at Pell himself. I don’t know if he, too, is guilty as those men he has protected from the law, but I no longer prevaricate over the description of Pell made by Minchin.
Pell may think he has the right to judge others (as so many authoritarians do), so too do other people have the right to judge him.
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Apologies for punctuation and spelling.
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We are all human and capable of typo’s.
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Neither distracted from your post. 🙂
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Well said, diannaart.
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Well. I think it is disrespectful and disgraceful.
Typos at NPFS…what has the world come to ?
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So verbal abuse couched in boringly and gratuitously vulgar language is fine and totally acceptable? What a low standard of expression we have sunk to in our supposedly tolerant and peace loving culture!
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It’s satire.
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Well well Georgie boy a suspected pedophile , if it is ‘true’ it would be no wonder he didn’t act against the other pedo he was living with. What a tangled web we weave…..
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Yep, and this one is very tangled indeed. Who knows what will come out?
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This is an earnest pursuit, from Dr. Wilson.
I am put in mind of that Goya sketch, “The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Scary Monsters” — a picture crosses my mind of Pell fleeing from the Cathedral in the pitch black of night, cloak over head, harrassed by flying dingbats, crows and other clawy, bitey avenging angels.
For whom the Pell Tolls.
Why, it tolls for George and NO Cheers for the Paraclete.
I should say the piece is a reminder of the width, breadth and depth of the sophistries and dissembling; obfuscation, filibustering and prevarications over decades.
Nothing innocent, rather worldly cunning and deceit to deny justice, of a sort old when the Devil was young.
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Yes, I share your image, it’s perfect for Pell.
And the cunning, deceit & sophistry are present if Pell himself is a pedophile or not. A matter of degrees.
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I think people who support the Catholic Church are as morally culpable as the clergy that lead them. It is beyond belief that people still subscribe to an ancient superstition that is demonstrably evil.
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I can’t understand why people still have faith in that church, I agree, it’s incredible. I couldn’t actually set foot in one of their churches I don’t think, or give any credibility to their priests.
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Paedophiles have sought out every large organisation and even small ones where they could gain access to children The United Nations peacekeeping force the scouting movement education and medical services have all been exploited by these people
We still have faith because the Church’s teachings are beautiful offering hope and mercy to all. Our church has lasted for 2000 years in spite of the human failings of its members. The existence od paedophiles hiding within is proof of the frightening power of evil to possess a person’s heart.
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Mary, I don’t believe in evil. I think humans can do these things all by ourselves.
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2000+ years and Christianity still has abusive priests, treats children as toys and women as second class, permits discrimination against minorities who ‘don’t match the faith’…. I can continue…..
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My uncle Stanley was fond of Spoonerisms. I often got called a fart smella.
No religion has any credibility; the Abrahamic faiths are all death cults.
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We may have the spectacle of Pell holed up in the Vatican, a la Assange. 🙂
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The difference being there is no US waiting in the background for rendition and water boarding, although Pell may be a more appropriate candidate than Julian Assange.
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I’d like to see that . . .
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I think that’s definitely on the cards but his life will be more comfortable than Assange’s
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Jennifer’s link to an article on the Ellis case is most illuminating. Although longish, the article really is worth a read.
There exists a most interesting juxtaposition of views as to Pell’s not being across the tactics and detail of that litigation as perceived by Ellis, with that of the Vatican which has evidently seen fit to subsequently place Pell in charge of the management of Vatican finances, a position one would think requires being across much detail.
One explanation for the impressions of vagueness that seem to surround Pell’s testimony is that far from being hostage to an organisational machine, he was in fact its master tactician and driver, the vagueness being to conceal that fact, perhaps even from the Church’s own legal team.
In the light of his present position in charge of Vatican finances, and being 3IC in the Vatican hierarchy, I think the possible significance of his earlier appointment to a Vatican body may have been under-estimated. The Ellis case, far from being a reaction to yet another embarrassing abuse claim, may have been an offensive undertaken from the outset to establish precedents protective of the patrimony of the Holy See throughout the common law countries. Pell’s present position being one of recognition for his efforts, rather than one of sanctuary.
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The Cardinal lies through his teeth to protect his Church and himself. Are we really surprised by this – after all we have seen Pell’s acolyte/protege/catspaw Tony Abbott in action for several years.
I am amazed only at John Ellis’ naivety in apparently believing Pell at any point. The various judges and commissioners could see what was going on, but the Church, hierarchical and monolithic though it really is, could hide behind the common law and it still can. The ‘Ellis Defence’ is still the law.
It is evil, it is a death cult, it is a religion.
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I think Ellis was so traumatised by events at the time he lost his ability to judge who to trust and who to keep clear of.
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Forrest, I have always been sceptical of Pell’s claims to forgetfulness, and his penchant for misunderstanding, and I agree with you, it’s a tactic.
Perhaps his current job is both sanctuary and recognition. They could have given him a much less significant post if it was simply sanctuary, I agree.
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Only half jokingly, for many years I have called Pell the next Pope, to be called Pope Sanctimonious.
Thankfully it now seems rather more remote, unless there are more Cardinals in the paedophile ring than the statistics suggest.
2% of priests are paedophiles according to the Pope:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28282050
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Well, 2% managed to do an awful lot of damage…
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That amounts to over 8,000 RC priests! [2% of the 414,313 RC priests as at 2012]
One may suppose that the Pope took a conservative estimate rather than a maximum.
It is horrendous.
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Two per cent is two per cent too many but this statistic shows so despite the constant attempts to paint the Church as full of child abusing paedophiles it simply is not true.
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Minchin doesn’t really go far enough. I think that “Scum” is a very mild pejorative to apply to pell. Lower case intended there. I don’t think he even deserves the dignity of capitalisation.
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Yes, I agree with that, LSWCHP
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So now the ABC and police are conspiring against Pell.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-28/george-pell-says-7.30-abc-victoria-police-should-be-investigated/7667260
There is a lot at stake here to rival Da Vinci Code, but with real and living victims.
Victims Vs (it’s a long a powerful list)
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“So now the ABC and police are conspiring against Pell.”
Pell, missing the point that police action from the two men recounting their childhood memories of Pell was instigated over 12 months ago and was very much part of the push to have Pell return to Ballarat.
As for comments regarding ABC – AKA shooting the messenger.
Auntie has not completely folded to the dark side.
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““So now the ABC and police are conspiring against Pell.”
was ^ sarcasm.
It is a look over there moment.Where’s Tony Abbott??????
No vocal support for his mentor and friend yet?
Cat got his tongue?
Rallying the troops?
Chatting with Brandis?
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You meant ““So now the ABC and police are conspiring against Pell” as a dog whistle.
I understood Pell as looking to cast himself as a victim as he done all along:
In a statement, Cardinal Pell’s office said he “emphatically and unequivocally rejects any allegations of sexual abuse against him”, and accused the ABC of mounting a smear campaign against him.
http://www.youngwitness.com.au/story/4058633/claims-of-pell-abusing-emerge/?cs=4195
He has always claimed there is a smear campaign against him many times during questioning as part of the RC.
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The greatest threat to his reputation is himself.
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Hypo
As a witness, Pell, is indeed a liability to himself. No wonder his minders ensured he would not appear in Ballarat last year.
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Only ‘as a witness’ ?
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He meant a pat on the shoulder, but has poor hand eye/ motor coordination.
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The link is a beaut. The attempt to silence the media and shut down further investigation is a pathetic attempt to facilitate naked evil.
What’s nuclear about the report is the fact that an Australian university Vice Chancellor should lend the name of his institution to such a mis guided, dark endeavor.
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A valiant attempt to defend her Church made by ‘Mary’ above. The Pope’s own figures show at least 8,000 priests are paedophiles. Add in those who “merely” touch up the altar boys and other kiddies – which appears to be Pell’s thing, at least so far – and you do indeed get a Church full of child abusing priests.
Could be worse? Yes, but not much.
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“A valiant attempt to defend her Church made by ‘Mary’ ”
Where to file it?
Lipstick on a pig or polishing a turd?
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Sprinkling a little holy water on the stinking pile of turds and pretending it does not smell, perhaps.
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As Rocky would say to Bullwinkle,
“that trick ne-e-e-ever works.”
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