Politics

The Pell Decision Has Devastated Survivors, But Some People Are Celebrating His Freedom

Notorious defender Andrew Bolt has described the entire process as a "witch hunt".

by Rachael Conaghan  7 April 2020
george pell

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Victims and advocacy groups are mourning the decision of the High Court to overturn the convictions made against George Pell today — meanwhile, some of his staunchest defenders are celebrating.

Pell was sentenced to jail last year for historic child sex crimes, but this morning the High Court quashed those convictions. He has now been found not guilty of those crimes.

His lawyers argued the jury should have had reasonable doubt as to whether those crimes could have taken place in the time the prosecution claimed they did.

The High Court agreed.

“The High Court found that the jury … ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s guilt with respect to each of the offences for which he was acquitted, and ordered that the convictions be quashed and that verdicts of acquittal be entered in their place,” the Court’s judgement summary read.

That decision has been described as shocking and devastating for victims of abuse who have always fought to be believed.

The lawyer of one of the accusers’ fathers said their client had lost all faith in the justice system.

Pell released a statement saying he had always maintained his innocence while “suffering from a serious injustice”.

“I hold no ill will to 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,” he wrote.

“However my trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the Church.

“The point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not.”

Pell’s loyal followers have also spent the morning celebrating the decision of the High Court.

It didn’t take long for conservative commentator Andrew Bolt to put out a statement describing the accusations against Pell as a “witch hunt”.

“The High Court says George Pell is innocent,” he wrote. “Shame on everyone who joined this witch hunt against an innocent man, ruining him and sending him to jail for 405 days for a crime he could not have committed.”

He also appeared on Sky News saying people should be ashamed of their role in the case.

First off, claiming he has been found innocent is incorrect. The court does not find people innocent, it finds them guilty or not guilty, and that’s actually an important distinction.

Being innocent means you did not commit a crime. Being not guilty means there was not enough evidence to determine whether you committed a crime.

Fellow News Corp columnist Miranda Devine called the case “an egregious miscarriage of justice”.

She also claimed the criminal justice system had been “perverted”, called for the Victorian police commissioner to stand down, and for any police involved in gathering complains to be held to account.

“A good priest, falsely accused and railroaded through a politically motivated investigation and an unfair trial, can walk free, in Holy Week,” she wrote.

“An innocent man persecuted as the reviled scapegoat for all the sins of the Catholic Church, is free of the most disgusting and implausible charges of child sexual assault.”

Another defender — Greg Craven, Vice-Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University — spoke to 7News and criticised authorities for creating “enormous pain for the accuser” by dragging them through three years of horror in the courts.

“I think the message for accusers is that it is an outrage and a terrible thing to do to an accuser to bring a case forward, knowing that it is incredibly weak legally. In other words, it has reasonable doubt,” he said. 

Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli was another supporter who visited Pell in jail and had previously said he believed the version of events from both Pell and his accuser.

“Today, the court has made its final decision, and the Cardinal has been found innocent of the crimes that he was accused of, but my mind has been with J (the victim) and how this will be affecting him at this time,” he said today. 

“I am particularly mindful of those who are struggling with the experience of being abused and who have been wanting to find pathways to healing and justice and I want to say that it remains my focus, it has been my focus, and the work I want to continue to do with survivors and with our community.”

Former PM TonyAbbott was more measured — he said he wanted to let the judgement speak for itself.

A number of civil cases — which are judged on the balance of probabilities, not on reasonable doubt — are now expected to flood in against Pell. While some allege further abuse, others blame him for not stopping the abuse perpetuated by other priests.

George Pell was driven out of Barwon Prison around midday today.