Why the Pell Verdict Has Done Little to Shift Public Opinion in Australia, by Natasha Marsh, Catholic Herald, May 15, 2020

Why the Pell Verdict Has Done Little to Shift Public Opinion in Australia

By Natasha Marsh
Catholic Herald
May 15, 2020

https://catholicherald.co.uk/why-the-pell-verdict-has-done-little-to-shift-public-opinion-in-australia/

There has been only one topic in Australia that has broken through the Covid-19 eclipse, and that is the exoneration of Cardinal George Pell by the High Court on Tuesday, April 7. By a unanimous decision, 7-0, the court acquitted the cardinal of all charges, saying there should have been “sufficient doubt” in the minds of the jury when they condemned him over a year ago.

There has been only one topic in Australia that has broken through the Covid-19 eclipse, and that is the exoneration of Cardinal George Pell by the High Court on Tuesday, April 7. By a unanimous decision, 7-0, the court acquitted the cardinal of all charges, saying there should have been “sufficient doubt” in the minds of the jury when they condemned him over a year ago.

This could have marked the end of a bitter episode, yet many Australians – in a mirrored unanimity – voted to ignore the High Court’s decision: in their own minds, the Cardinal remains a guilty man.