I've been accused on here of being obsessed with Aust's Cardinal Pell and the accusations he has faced.

I have little idea about Pell's life but I am obsessed- only about the narrative that has built up over him for a decade in Australia where seemingly sane intelligent people have fallen into accepting accusations made under the glare of sensationalism.

It has been a Witch Hunt.

Such as a book written by an ABC (national broadcaster) journo making outlandish claims without evidence (very similar to the Cliff Richard case) with one accuser exposed as a career criminal (now dead from Cancer but even his mother said he was a liar) and other claims..which were hailed by real hacks..being shot down in flames by a Magistrate as "preposterous" and impossible to have happened (these were the most serious).

His trial will be held "in secret" (requested by the Prosecution) as a court official was discovered to have been trying to sell details of accusers etc to Italian newspapers ( Hello MWT!)

And the "comedian" Tim Minchin's nasty Pell accusing ditty played repeatedly on TV with Minchin raising funds to send a Pell accuser to Rome to confront Pell..except that man turned out to have been a confessed & convicted abuser of a 14 year old boy, much to the distress of victims who travelled with him to Rome.

No apology from the appalling Minchin even when the victim, in that case, came out and said his "song" had dredged up terrible memories and almost ruined his life.

Or the high profile "journalists" and head of the Ausat Medical Assoc. who said on Twitter "Pell will never return to Oz to 'face the music'" when upon being told he would be charged- Pell immediately returned to Australia.

Or the high profile respected political journalist Paul Bongiorno who has criticised Pell over Pells' claim he never witnessed a confessed and convicted Gerald Ridsdale's abuse when he shared a house with Ridsdale as a trainee priest (Pell was not a Bishop as bizarrely reported) in Ballarat (with 12-20 other trainee priests) while Bongiorno neglected to mention he shared a room with Ridsdale at the same time and "saw nothing".

The furor over a photo of Cardinal Pell accompanying a not-yet-convicted Gerard Ridsdale to court..as his priest..has been outrageous.

There are at least another dozen examples and similar to the UK, Pell "defenders" have been on the right of politics mainly demanding the notion of "innocent unless proven guilty" while the "left" have raged uncontrolled because of Cardinal Pell's very conservative views (and yet- he has been a life-long friend of the current left-wing Pope).

I'm not religious but I've met dozens of priests and nuns who are almost saint-like in their actions aiding their "parishioners" and those in need. They get condemned along with the guilty.

I support the local charity St Vincent's de Paul as all funds raised go to help the needy-mainly in Afghanistan at present, which we helped blow-up while priests and nuns take their life in their hands and work in Kabul.

'This is for the kids': Innocent priest beaten unconscious in a brutal attack that 'left him for dead' by a man enraged by the Catholic church sex abuse scandal



www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6084713...sex-abuse-cited.html

I can hardly believe what I have just read, Hedda.
It sounds like the script for a very dark comedy series.

Oh yes - it has the hallmarks of Savile - Cosby - and so many others. Society globally has superficialised; government and social "justice" by tabloid headlines.

No doubt, some innocent individuals were caught up in child abuse cases within the Catholic church.

But when the Pope admits massive abuse/problems - in every continent - in writing (his recent letter/To the People of God), it's reasonable to accept it happened.

In recent months, thousands of child sex abuse cases have been acknowledges by him - in Washington, Pennsylvania, Chile and Ireland.

However, the Church still refuses to release their records on the abuse and abusers - perpetuating its defence of the indefensible.


Pell may well be innocent - but shouldn't he be tried in a normal court, and not in one of the Vatican's secret ones?

Like so many of his peers...

None of us are saying Pell is innocent or guilty - we don't know. And sadly, the global judicial systems are so broken that a verdict either way is often meaningless. Likewise we don't deny there was widespread abuse amongst all religions and everywhere else - from scouts to sports coaches to modelling to doctors to social workers to teachers - even car mechanics and street sweepers. But it has been blown out of all proportion; any balance removed and obsessives use it against their chosen hate figures or institutions. No more or less abuse by vicars of choir boys than by comedians and bosomy birds. Pick your target and use it to lambast your chosen area. But enough now on Catholics please. Start on Moonies or Vegans or bus drivers.

The psychologist Dorothy Rowe has some interesting things to say about religious division in Northern Ireland and Australia before and during World War II. Measures such as mixed schooling or enforcing hate crime legislation can provide effective solutions in tackling prejudice in times of relative calm. For a while, they may even give the impression that the old prejudices have died hard. But these surface solutions don't pay any attention to the deeper roots of prejudice that spring from emotions such as fear, anger, hate and guilt. These usually dormant, pesky emotions threaten to rise up again when the winds become storms especially during times of rapid change. The easiest way to disown and get rid of them is to try and offload them onto others. Any attempts at dealing with them by changing the outer world of appearances are doomed to fail as they don't live on the outside. Their place of residence is within.

www.dorothyrowe.com.au/articles/item/102...iracle-july/aug-2007

as the Pell calamity was kicking off..I boarded a plane in Bangkok heading for Sydney and found myself sitting next to one of Australia's most vocal "child protection advocates" who proceeded to get quite drunk.

She insisted on talking to me and when she told me who she was I mentioned I had recently attended a fundraiser for Catholic priest Father Chris Riley who runs retreats for children living on the street. The actor Eric Bana had just become a patron. Riley is funded by Matt Handbury (Rupert Murdoch's very rich nephew) who purchased a huge country retreat for these kids (and boy..are they rough) to spend a few weeks away from the city (apparently it works wonders)

Riley owns no property, survives on whatever a priest receives and lives in very modest accommodation.

Our "child protection advocate" (who receives around $1M each year from the government) complained she couldn't get into Business Class on this packed flight but went in for the kill about Riley accusing him of all sorts of dreadful things.

No proof, no evidence but he was a priest, and well, hangs around with kids.

Her activism, as she described it, seem to be an endless round of conferences in Asian cities at 5-Star hotels although she said she thought all Thai women were whores but she fancied Indonesian men so she always tried to ensure her "child abuse" conference were held in Indonesian holiday spots (Bali was a big favourite)

There has never been a hint of scandal with Riley. The children that go through his retreats and who he helps almost worship him (and these really are kids who have become so tough from their lifestyles they can be frightening !)

Our "child protection advocate" got so drunk, she tried to kiss me and groped my crutch..quite fiercely as she yanked my head close to hers. Then she passed out.

I demanded to be moved..the flight attendant gave me the only sea available (2 hours from Sydney)..in Business Class..the passenger hadn't turned up.

I spotted my abuser at Customs. She ignored me but I don't think she recognized me.
Since then I've seen her interviewed as she demands that priests and any convicted abuser be hung, drawn and quartered whilst simultaneously complaining that the government kept cutting her funding.

## Father Riley and Cardinal Pell, are not the best of friends.
youthoffthestreets.com.au/about/father-rileys-story/

Wow, sounds like an unpleasant character. Was it H**** J******** or L** M*******?

Jo wrote:
Wow, sounds like an unpleasant character. Was it H**** J******** or L** M*******?

neither.. B...M.. (very Irish).

HJ is something else !.
she can actually make sense but other times borders on hysteria.
I think all her 'charity' does is send out leaflets.

JK2006 wrote:
we don't deny there was widespread abuse amongst all religions and everywhere else - from scouts to sports coaches


Perhaps there was.

But not in the league of the RCC - now (at last) admitted by its leader - and proven by courts in several jurisdictions, worldwide.

Illustrated also by the magnitude (and there will be more) of compensation payments in - just as an example - Boston.


So far - virtually all of the c200 Catholic dioceses in the US have paid compensation to sex abuse victims, by clergy.


It happens everywhere - with no comparible evidence - doesn't wash..

www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/...xual-offence-charges

This story shows the problem with the whole approach to sexual abuse. Someone is named as an 'abuser'. A load of complainants come forward, some with ridiculous complaints and an unconvincing manner. But some are more intelligent and more convincing. A minority of the latter cases go forward so it looks to the jury that all the accusers are credible individuals. If they could hear all the others who were making allegations as well they might be more sceptical about the whole thing.

Of course, Pell might be guilty but I do think that juries must be able to assess properly whether a case is just a lot of people trying to jump on the bandwagon to get compo. Juries should get the whole process of how the police/media gathered together allegations and know what all the allegations are, even the ones that were not proceeded with. And also they should know that the fact that a witness sounds convincing in court does not indicate guilt.

Anonymous has given you my answer Barney. Now can we move on, please? You'll enjoy the wonderful Jimmy and Asia saga - for more entertaining than another frock dropping bishop.

False allegations against an individual are vile.

Proven child, admitted and abhorrent sexual abuse against children - is so much worse.

Some were babies, abused by priests. OK, move on - if you must.

hedda wrote:
neither.. B...M.. (very Irish).
Ah, hadn't heard the name but after a guess at the first name I think I've found her.