Cardinal George Pell, who is the third highest ranking official in the Catholic Church, is to plead not guilty to a string of non recent child sexual offences.
Pell is also the most senior Catholic church official to be charged with sex offences to date.
The first hearing took place in Melbourne, and although not required to enter a plea prior to the case being committed to trial, chose to make the not guilty plea at the hearing due to media and public interest.
As we reported last month, Pell has already been heavily criticised for perceived failures in investigating non recent child sexual abuse allegations when he was found to have let victims down by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
His conduct during a trial for a survivor of child sexual abuse also casts a shadow over his fitness to practice as a member of the clergy. The Commission found that Pell did not act ‘in a Christian manner’ during a court battle against a survivor who said he had been abused as a teenager by a priest from 1974 and 1979. Pell had bullied and intimidated the survivor, and used the threat of court costs repeatedly to try and force the survivor to withdraw his case.
Speaking about his own trial in June, Pell said he is “looking forward to his day in court and will defend the charges vigorously.”
marilyn hawes said:
well of course he won’t please guilty !! It seems the case these Men of God TIME AND AGAIN fail to humbly tell the truth and so often preach from their pulpits how the rest of decent folk should live life !!! The hypocrisy is jaw dropping .The Vatican is minted so Pell will have the best of legal support. What about the alleged victims support? We wait with interest!
LikeLike
Ian Josephs said:
There was a similar case in the USA .The priest justified his seduction of the kids in his charge by telling them “if you give yourself to me you give yourself to God !”
Do readers agree or disagree with his point of view??
LikeLiked by 1 person
maureenjenner said:
Reblogged this on Musings of a Penpusher and commented:
Time for the truth, and the revelation of what has for too long been hidden behind closed doors and locked within the silence of the victims.
LikeLike
Grant said:
Marilyn, the Vatican, as far as I understand things, aren’t paying his legal bill. There has been a fund raising campaign by his supporters to raise money for the legal costs. That said, the Holy See has lept to his defence publicly. And yes he has the best legal support that loads of money can buy; Robert Richter QC. Agree with everything you have said. In my view the Catholic Church should be viewed as an organised criminal group who are responsible for mass suffering and high profile members of the church, including Pell, should be charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting and failing to report serious crimes to police. Either way, Pell’s case involves multiple cases of abuse relating to multiple complainants so perhaps he will finally receive his karma. Let’s see where the case goes.
LikeLike
daveyone1 said:
Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
LikeLike
marilyn hawes said:
This USA priest twisted the message, which abusers do as their distorted minds justify their appalling behaviour
LikeLike
dr. manhattan62 said:
With hearsay being the primary evidence of family court judgements if this court does the same he’s doomed. innocent or not.
LikeLike
Pingback: Cardinal Pell Will Plead Not Guilty To Child Sex Abuse Charges | HOLLIE GREIG JUSTICE E mail holliegreigjusticee@gmail.com
Grant said:
As innocent as Rolf Harris dr. manhatten2 ? Hearsay of course being multiple complainants telling their stories to the court years after the abuse. Sorry but there is never a smoking gun in historical child sexual abuse cases so testimony (not hearsay) is what the court must evaluate.
LikeLike
Ian Josephs said:
Surely this holy man has the right to take his pleasures wherever he finds them?
Suffer the little children to come unto me…..Or am I taking that too literally?
LikeLike
Grant said:
Ian did your mother never tell you that when you joke about some things you come across as a twat? I.e. CSA is no laughing matter.
LikeLike
Ian Josephs said:
Religious hypocricy is best mocked rather than decried in my opinion.Ridicule is more effective than taking the moral highground with earnest diatribes.
LikeLike
Grant said:
The moral high ground would be to be respectful of the victims and not mock the perpetrators thereby diminishing the impact CSA has on human lives.
LikeLike
forcedadoption said:
OK You take the moral highground and I`ll take the low…………..
LikeLike
Grant said:
Righto so you want to take the same road as the Vatican then. Cooolio, 🙂
LikeLike
forcedadoption said:
The lowi road leads to mocking the perpetrators and your moral high road leads to stuffy pompous indignation that leads nowhere
LikeLike
Grant said:
The low road leads to all sorts of crap pal. That’s why the low road is best avoided.
LikeLike
butlincat said:
Pell arrives at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court
LikeLike