https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/cardinal-pell-to-face-trial-on-criminal-charges-in-australia/ar-AAwwH95?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=U346DHP
Pell, Pope Francis' former finance minister, was charged last June with sexually abusing multiple people in his Australian home state of Victoria. The details of the allegations against the 76-year-old have yet to be released to the public, though police have described the charges as "historical" sexual assault offenses — meaning the crimes allegedly occurred decades ago.
Advocates for abuse victims have long railed against Francis' decision to appoint Pell to the high-ranking position in the first place. At the time of his promotion, Pell was already facing allegations that he had mishandled cases of clergy abuse during his time leading the church in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia's largest cities.
So far, Francis has withheld judgment of Pell, saying he wants to wait for justice to run its course. And he did not force the cardinal to resign, though Pell took an immediate leave of absence so he could return to Australia to fight the charges. Pell said he intends to continue his work as a prefect of the church's economy ministry once the case is resolved.
In recent years, Pell's actions as archbishop came under particular scrutiny by a government-authorized investigation into how the Catholic Church and other institutions have responded to the sexual abuse of children.
In testimony to the commission in 2016, Pell conceded that he had made mistakes by often believing priests over people who said they had been abused. And he vowed to help end a rash of suicides that has plagued abuse victims in his hometown of Ballarat.
His lawyers argued in court that Pell was targeted for "special treatment" by detectives from a police task force that investigated historical sex abuse. Police witnesses denied that accusation.
The case places both the cardinal and the pope in potentially perilous territory. For Pell, the charges are a threat to his freedom, his reputation and his career. For Francis, they are a threat to his credibility, given he famously promised a "zero tolerance" policy for sex abuse in the church.
Pell's lawyers told the court in February that the first complainant approached police in 2015, 40 years after the alleged crimes, in response to media reports about the royal commission.
PG related because well, priests and sexual abuse and children. And here we go again with Pell's lawyers implying there is something odd about waiting 40 years. It has taken that long for these victims to finally muster the courage to tell about the horrors Pell visited upon them.
The Gall.
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MolochHunter ago
My ex wife , as a child, was in a Catholic School that Pell would occasionally visit. He would line the children up and 'inspect' them with predatory contempt
this prick stalled and stonewalled every single fucking pedo complaint in his entire career. Never once has he assisted police willingly or given victims a voice. And thats why the Vatican made him 2nd in command, head of their pedo complaints division. Special place in hell. Very special.
Its a falsity of this article to suggest victims waited that long. In decades past , until about 2005 or so if i recall correctly, police had an agreement to refer such complaints to be handled within the clergy. It was the systemic failure of this that made the police eventually start taking complaints about clergy pedos, and the police complaints from 2015 are simply claims reiterated that fell on deaf ears in previous decades
I had a mate once. He was one of 5 kids molested by a priest, and he was the only one who had his shit together. 3 others had suicided and the 4th was a drug addict en rout to suicide, chemically or otherwise
and Pell covered the tracks for that bastard pedo too
carmencita ago
What Horror and Heartbreak. I came close to possible abuse by our pastor. I was a favorite of his, but somehow escaped it. Years later I heard a mother say they did not let their daughters near him for a reason. Sometimes I wonder how many of these priests were on the loose and on the prowl. I hope they throw the book at this perverted evil scumbag. Evil and vile. Same letters. Thank you for your story.
MolochHunter ago
You know one reason they get away with it? Social Status
My father in law grew up in a small town that was preyed upon by a couple of pedo priests. When the rumors started coming out, the well-to-do ladies were fiercest in denial. Why? Because their sense of identity was beholden to their roles as being good little participants in church activities, known as the bigger $ donors in town to its charities etc. Fidelity to the church was how they got their personal small-town prestige . So they helped silence the victims for years
Its exactly the same as when Tommy Robinson was on the train going home to Islamised Luton town from an 'anti Brexit rally'
He explained although there was 10 000 remainers at the rally now disbanded, they're all on the trains going back to the upper class / upper middle class suburbs that dont live the daily damage of multiculturalism's failures. The people from those suburbs, the migrants they meet, are the well educated cream of the crop. They're not the 3rd world low IQ little sense of modern civic co-operation migrants who ghettoise and create No Go Zones
People think so much of politics is ideology when in fact, its just vanity of gaining/maintaining social status, or the fear of losing social status
GreenDell144 ago
Think about the strategy of a cop that’s a drug dealer. A a pedo that becomes a teacher has access. A pedo that becomes a priest has access and authority. A system of pedos with authority can be easily controlled by blackmail.
No wonder nothing ever changes in society. The people in power are corrupted to the core.
carmencita ago
So very true. I don't know how these people can lay their heads down on their pillows at night and have a restful sleep. Yes you are correct about those supporters of the priests for they are guilty of being the ones that sign those letters in their favor. Yes, do gooders can do so much damage with their righteousness. They all make me sick.