The Enduring Lesson of the Persecution of Cardinal Pell

National Catholic Register, 08 April 2020

Does the Church in Australia realize that the wrongful conviction of Cardinal Pell was an example and warning to all Catholics who might be too open about their Catholic faith?

The emphatic acquittal Tuesday of Cardinal George Pell by Australia’s High Court is a moment of opportunity and testing for the Church in Australia. Will they meet the moment?

The acquittal raises serious questions for the Australian criminal justice system, as I wrote about earlier. Consider this one fact: No judge who had a future to worry about sided with Cardinal Pell. Every judge whose future was secure from recriminations for judging fairly sided with the cardinal.

At the Court of Appeal in Victoria, Justice Mark Weinberg was the dissenting judge, whose 200-page dissent utterly demolished the majority opinion, which upheld the jury convictions. Weinberg is a 71-year-old retired judge who is called in for special cases because of his expertise.

At the High Court, all seven justices — already in the final appointment of their careers and completely immune from future pressure — swatted away the convictions with such force that the whole Australian legal community is reeling. The implausibility of the convictions was matched by the incredulity of the High Court that the Court of Appeal majority could have got it so wretchedly wrong.

That suggests the cultural and political environment in Australia is so toxic for the Catholic Church that a persecution masquerading as a prosecution could be successfully launched against Australia’s most prominent Catholic.

Remember this, too: The utterly fantastic Melbourne cathedral allegations were the most promising case for the prosecutors to pursue. The Victoria Police had solicited a number of even more outrageous claims that never got to trial.

What to call an effort to take down Australia’s most senior prelate in a frenzy of outrage — some of it deserved, but only some — against the Catholic Church?

Persecution.

Continue reading at the National Catholic Register:
https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-enduring-lesson-of-the-persecution-of-cardinal-pell