Cardinal George Pell - CHARGED

[twyngwyn]

http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/cardinal-george-pell-charged-with-at-least-three-serious-sex...

[domino-710]

Hope the  good Cardinal has stocked up on Speedos - we all know where he is off to on his last ride.

Charge or no charge.

[janeababe]

This George Pell saga has been strung along for years and years and years!

WHY HASNT SOMEONE SHOT THAT MONGREL YET !!!!!

makes me soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo mad  GGrrrrrrrr....

(i wonder if the bots will bleep out    mon gre l )  ???

[tezza2844]

Sincerely hope these charges are not based on false memory recall, otherwise we will be in a long long and probably useless trial.

http://www.afma.asn.au/afmafaq.html#anchor577047

[zanadoo_56]

It's been a long time coming.  I think he will come back for the trial.

A lot depends on how good his lawyers are I reckon.

[johcaschro]

Whilst I have no love nor respect for any cardinal of the Catholic church, I find it a bit unsettling that so many people here don't observe one of the cardinal rules of our fair society. viz, that a person should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

[tasfleur]

Johcaschro, I don't disagree with your post about innocence and guilt overall.   

Speaking for myself, and in my personal opinion, I have watched every interview Pell himself has participated in, watched how he attempted to demonise and discredit all the victims of his church and spoke about them in snide appalling thinly veiled indifference and then change what he said from interview to interview, swinging from hostility to faux 'caring' and back again. 

Hopefully he will come back, but it remains to be seen.     It takes an awful lot of evidence for the police to lay charges like that, especially when it involves a high profile person such as Pell.   They normally would not bother unless they were sure they had enough evidence to actually make such charges stand from one country to another where there is no extradition.

If he has nothing to fear, then he should return immediately to clear his name as he insists he wants to do.

There is huge difference between 'law and justice'.

[janeababe]

---

@johcaschro wrote:

Whilst I have no love nor respect for any cardinal of the Catholic church, I find it a bit unsettling that so many people here don't observe one of the cardinal rules of our fair society. viz, that a person should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

---

Are you implying that all his *victims* are lying and only Pell is telling the truth????

No wonder victims of child abuse stay quiet for years and years and years!!!!!!!!

[freddie*rooster]

I agree with johncaschro we as arm chair Barrister's don't have the privilege

of all the evidence regarding this case - human nature being as it is we like

to part our gut feelings when it comes to news worthy stories such as this

horrible disgusting story. 

Tas well said, I also agree with your post he is a smarmy heartless individual

I was glued to the TV when he testified for the Royal Commission and was

struck by his ducking and weaving and his avoidance at answering direct 

questioning. Do I like the man NO he protected priests he knew were guilty

of abuse.

[the_great_she_elephant]

Are you implying that all his *victims* are lying and only Pell is telling the truth????

Jane, we don't yet know, except in very general terms, what any of his alleged victims  have actually accused him of, or how strong their evidence is,  so whatever our gut feelings may be (and mine tell me he is probably guilty) it is impossible, until it comes to court, to reach any conclusion. 

I agree with Freddie that  he has shown himslef to be a smarmy, heartless **bleep** who has protected and defended child abusers, but legally that does not constitute proof that he is an abuser himself; and even lawyers for some of his accusers have warned it may be very difficult to get a conviction.