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Cardinal Pell and Mr Pell

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While the first merits the honours that are about to be bestowed upon him by the Catholic Church and its followers, the second does not.

The High Court acquittal does not mean that both were innocent of the sex crimes of which they were accused – only that the prosecutor failed to prove that one or the other, or both were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Accordingly, the charge will probably remain on the defendants’ criminal record even without a conviction.

Had they survived, they still would have had to face civil charges brought against them and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne with the risk of being found guilty based on the lower burden of proof of “the balance of probability”, i.e., the defendants were more likely than not to have committed the crimes and should be held responsible.

However, as Cardinal Pell and Mr Pell are, in fact, one and the same person, it would seem imprudent and inappropriate to confound the two and avoid confusing genres.

As it stands, the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne will have to face the charges alone.

Rubbing shoulders with God and the devil may have been all right for the Pells, but it is not something the Church should celebrate.

Lying in State, a pontifical mass and burial in the crypt at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney alongside other senior figures of the Catholic church in Australia seems to be overdoing it a bit.

It sends the wrong message not only to the victims of child sexual abuse but to all the victims of sexual abuse in Australia, irrespective of their age and sex, as well as to our state and federal justices that failed, as they do so often, to reveal the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Acquittal does not mean innocent. It means undecided.

The Church should not celebrate something that has not yet been decided.

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Pauliar,

Are you going to visit Doig and your other green mates in prison?

Foxy, Banjo,

The presumption of innocence and rules of evidence have evolved over centuries primarily to protect people from the ill intent of an authoritarian state or an angry mob and are the bedrock of justice throughout the civilised world.

Your suggestion is to abandon all protections and set up kangaroo courts. The next step is to abandon any semblance of a trial and convict based on a Twitter poll.

I see the big picture you clearly don't.

Shonky,

As a loyal Trumpster you had no problem cheering on the murderous rioters at the Capitol Building in Washington.

Pauliar,

As a loyal green, you are for the legalization of child sex.

"Sex with children is wrong. What's clear today was not always thought to be the case in Germany. A new study shows how much support paedophilia had decades ago among Green politicians."

https://www.dw.com/en/greens-research-pedophilic-past/a-17026612

SM, making another one of your no so subtle accusations that I am some kind of paedophile supporter, which I am not. Despite the claim that this site has a "zero tolerance policy" for such accusations, you get away with it time and again. But that is how this site operates.

"As a loyal green, you (Paul1405) are for the legalization of child sex."

p/s I have to be careful what I say about YOU as I risk immediate suspension.