Guilty or not guilty I have no idea. Proven beyond reasonable doubt definitely not. The science is not settled.

Dear estelles,

The young man certainly is a hero.
He did it not only for himself but
for his friend who died, and many others whose
lives and those of their families were
destroyed. I watched Mrs Forster on "Q and A"
last night (tragedy of her two daughters),
asking questions of the panel. Her face said it
all - what her family had gone through in their
contacts with the Cardinal. No matter what the
future outcomes will be - that man will go down
in history as a convicted pedophile. Justice
has been served - finally.

Victims are not 'heroes'. Nor are they 'survivors', another ridiculous description for victims of sexual abuse. Victims are ordinary people who have suffered. They have to decide whether or not they are going to carry around their victimhood for the rest of their lives or not; it's up to them. If they succeed in living a positive life, they have guts, but they are not heroes, who are people who make sacrifices for other people.

If the bloke who stood up and gave evidence against Pell in the face of relentless cross examination by one of Australia's most fearsome advocates, then I don't know what a hero is.
David

Pell made his living as a preacher of the Gospel which translates as a "teller of the truth".

How he and his expensive legal team considered that such a "teller of truth" could hide behind the right to silence and not get in the witness box shocks me.

It was the word of the alleged , now confirmed, victim against silence.

The jury , if that expensive defence team did its job, heard all the points which have been raised here -- and they convicted.

End of story. That is the truth, the Gospel that I have just preached.

The young lad spoke up for not only his deceased
friend but for all the other victims of the
Cardinal and as pointed out - he took it all
for them. Having the courage to do that despite
all the pressure and as has been pointed out - despite
the relentless questioning - he did not cave.
That makes him a hero. It gives hope to other victims.