Cardinal Pell Remains a Polarizing Figure in Australia, Church Pell is most senior Catholic cleric ever to be tried for sexually abusing children By Francis X. Rocca and Rachel Pannett Wall Street Journal April 7, 2020 https://www.wsj.com/articles/acquitted-cardinal-pell-remains-a-polarizing-figure-in-australia-church-11586265201 The reversal of Cardinal George Pell’s conviction on child sex-abuse charges generated support and anger in Australia and around the world and left leaders of the Catholic Church in a difficult position as they continue to deal with a prolonged crisis over clerical wrongdoing. Cardinal Pell, a former Vatican finance chief, is the most senior Catholic cleric to be tried for sexually abusing children. The unanimous decision by Australia’s High Court on Tuesday to quash his conviction brings this case to a close. But in the court of public opinion, from church officials to government leaders and victims’ advocates, people remain bitterly divided. For his detractors, Cardinal Pell is a symbol of the abuse crisis. To his supporters, he is a scapegoat who was targeted by enemies of the church. He served more than 12 months of a six-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of assaulting two 13-year-old choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral while he was the city’s archbishop in the 1990s. On Tuesday, Cardinal Pell said he had been vindicated after years of legal battles. “I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice,” he said in a statement. Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, noted in a statement that the “outcome will be welcomed by many, including those who have believed in the Cardinal’s innocence,” but “will be devastating for others. Many have suffered greatly through the process.” Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney was more forceful with his support: “I am pleased that the Cardinal will now be released and I ask that the pursuit of him that brought us to this point now cease.” Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, the state where Cardinal Pell was convicted, released an unusual statement Tuesday where he made no comment on the High Court decision, but sent a message to victims and survivors of child sex abuse: “I see you. I hear you. I believe you.” Pope Francis had reserved judgment on the Pell case as it made its way through the courts. He made a possible allusion to the case on Tuesday morning. “In these days of #Lent, we’ve been witnessing the persecution that Jesus underwent and how He was judged ferociously, even though He was innocent. Let us #PrayTogether today for all those persons who suffer due to an unjust sentence because of [sic] someone had it in for them,” the pope wrote on Twitter. The Vatican later released a statement welcoming the decision, adding that Cardinal Pell “has always maintained his innocence, and has waited for the truth to be ascertained.” In addition to debates among the Catholic faithful and in the broader civil society, the Pell case exposed divisions in Australia’s legal system, between state and federal appeal courts. The cardinal was convicted in December 2018 after a jury in an earlier trial became deadlocked. In August last year, a panel of appellate judges in Victoria state ruled 2-1 to uphold his conviction. At a two-day appeal hearing in Canberra last month, Cardinal Pell’s supporters waved signs saying “Keep the Faith” and “May the Australian legal system be inspired by the Holy Spirit.” An advocate for abuse victims held up a sign saying: “Burn in Hell Pell.” Legal experts say Tuesday’s decision raises complex questions about how evidence should be presented, the role of juries and the responsibility of judges to re-evaluate jury deliberations. The seven High Court judges concluded unanimously that the case wasn’t proved beyond reasonable doubt and that there was a “significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted.” “I hold no ill will toward my accuser, I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough,” Cardinal Pell said in his statement. His accuser, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he respected the High Court decision and accepted the outcome. He said it highlighted the difficulties in child sexual abuse cases of satisfying a criminal court that the offending has occurred beyond the shadow of doubt. “It is a very high standard to meet—a heavy burden. I understand why criminal cases must be proven beyond all reasonable doubt. No one wants to live in a society where people can be imprisoned without due and proper process. This is a basic civil liberty,” he said in a statement early Wednesday. “But the price we pay for weighting the system in favor of the accused is that many sexual offenses against children go unpunished.” A leading advocate for clerical abuse victims lamented the High Court’s decision as “distressing to many survivors,” but said the cardinal’s trial remains a watershed in the struggle against clerical abuse. “The Australian government has put the Catholic church on equal footing with other institutions and treated the church’s leaders as fellow citizens,” said Anne Barrett Doyle of the U.S.-based BishopAccountability.org, in a statement. The High Court’s decision reduces pressure on the Vatican to initiate its own investigation of the case, but that doesn’t mean Cardinal Pell will necessarily return to favor. Last month, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, France’s highest-ranking prelate, even though a French court had overturned his conviction for covering up sex abuse. The presence of Cardinal Pell in Rome, where he still has an apartment, would be awkward for the Vatican. “He may be asked to keep a low profile from now onwards just to not stir the pot,” said Kurt Martens, an expert on church law at the Catholic University of America, speaking shortly before the High Court released its decision. “It might be a fraternal encouragement to say, ‘look would you please not do any interviews and go quietly into retirement and we’ll leave you alone.’” The cardinal has the right to vote in a conclave to elect a future pope, if one should take place before he turns 80 in June 2021, but to do so would be highly inflammatory, Mr. Martens said. “It would undo all the work that has been done to give the church some credibility in looking at the sexual abuse crisis and combating it,” he said. “That’s not a legal question. That’s more a strategic, public relations question.” Cardinal Pell has said privately that he wants to remain in Australia, near friends and family members, following his release from prison. But his continued presence in Australia, where he is the most prominent symbol of the clerical-abuse crisis, might make it harder for church leaders there to move beyond the scandals, raising the possibility that he might move to a third country. The 78-year-old cardinal left prison on Tuesday. In the trial where he was convicted, the prosecution relied on the evidence from a former choirboys, who is now in his 30s and has a young family. He reported the alleged abuses to police in 2015, after another ex-choirboy died of an accidental drug overdose. The other choirboy never made public accusations against Cardinal Pell. The Catholic Church in Australia is still facing a number of civil suits, including one from the family of the dead choirboy. His father said via his lawyers on Tuesday that he was “disgusted” with the High Court ruling, which had shaken his faith in the country’s criminal justice system. “To the hundreds of thousands of survivors and victims of child sexual abuse, I encourage you to stay strong in your fight,” said Lisa Flynn, national practice leader at Shine Lawyers, which is representing the family in its civil suit. “Do not let this decision stop you from speaking your truth. Instead, use today’s decision to free George Pell to ignite your fire and take on your abuser.”

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