My prayers and those of many others have been answered. Let there be humble thanks to God for delivering George Pell from this horrible predicament he was in.

From the Jewish central prayer (http://www.sefaria.org/sheets/7166?lang=bi):

"He sustains the living with loving kindness, resurrects the dead with great mercy, supports the falling, heals the sick, RELEASES THE BOUND, and fulfills His trust to those who sleep in the dust. Who is like You, mighty One! And who can be compared to You, King, who brings death and restores life, and causes deliverance to spring forth!"

Dear Steele,

An article in The Age, deals with how the Catholic
Church is re-thinking seminary training after the
child abuse scandal.

We're told that -

Multiple Catholic sources say that church leaders are
discussing dismantling the seminary system in favour
of a broader model of priest apprentiships with more
inter action with the community.

We're told that at the moment becoming a priest generally
requires living in an exclusive male-dominated
residential college and an investigation by The Age and The
Sydney Morning Herald has thrown fresh light on the role
seminaries have played in the abuse crisis.

Church leaders are looking at past practices - such
as poor vetting, inadequate lessons in celibacy and
ministry, and a clerical culture that has shunned women and
has contributed to the church's abuse problem.

Evidence to the royal commission and subsequent legal
cases have shown that a number of seminaries had become places
where repressed young men would experiment sexually
with one another with little consequence, before some
of them turned their attention to children in their parish.

This is a step in the right direction.

.

Dear Shadow Minister,

.

You wrote :

« Presumption of innocence … [dates] back to habeas corpus in the 13th century »

Perhaps, Shadow Minister. This is what Shannon Kelly, Senior Legal Editor of The Laws of Australia encyclopaedia, has to say :

« The presumption of innocence is as old as law itself. When Lord Blackstone [1723-1780] postulated that it is “better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”, his Lordship was drawing on a long and distinguished line of legal jurisprudence including Genesis [10th century BC- 70 AD], the Code of Hammurabi [1792-1750 BC] and the Codex Justinianus [529 AD]. »

Other scholars have suggested it dates from the Law of the Twelve Tables (around 450 BC), the earliest written legislation of ancient Roman law.
.

You will recall that I suggested in my previous post that, in order to reduce some of the current injustices, we should make no presumptions regarding innocence or guilt in cases involving the most vulnerable amongst us (minors and the mentally and physically handicapped).

Another problem that needs to be addressed is our so-called adversarial trial system which allows the accused to remain silent. Pell’s trial is a good example. He remained silent and was acquitted without pronouncing a single word. The jury and judges never heard his version of events, nor was he ever cross-examined.

It was his accuser who was on trial, not Pell.

Pell’s trial is typical of most sex cases that boil down to “my word against yours”. The presumption of innocence combined with the adversarial system of justice assures quasi-legal impunity to the alleged offenders.

That does not qualify as justice. For it to be slightly more even-handed and still maintain the sacrosanct principle of presumption of innocence, either the adversarial system should be replaced by the inquisitorial system, or the right of the accused to remain silent should be abolished.

But, whatever the system, adversarial or inquisitorial, in my view, there should be no presumptions of innocence or guilt in cases involving vulnerable people (minors and the mentally and physically handicapped).

.

Banjo Paterson,

I think Mr Mark Weinberg pointed out that doubt existed because George Pell wasn't dressed for the occasion.

I wonder how that would work in other cases:

"Your Honour, I would like to point out that my client could not have robbed the bank because he was just not dressed for the occasion."

or

"Your Honour, I would like to point out that my client could not be the murderer because he has never dressed for that sort of an occasion."

It seems to work because Pell had his prison sentence cut short.

SR is once again selective in his recollection of the high court judgement.

The high court never claimed that any of the witnesses lied. However, they clearly noted that there were substantial discrepancies in the testimony of the victim and other prosecution witnesses.

This created doubt beyond just reasonable doubt.

It has been proven a number times that human memory is fallible and that the mind has a tendency to fill in the blanks and that people in recalling events, even recent ones can get salient details wrong. This is further exacerbated with the passage of time and people do give testimony in which they firmly believe and still get some of it wrong. This is even before the propensity for involved persons to embellish the truth. which is why single person testimonies are not considered sufficient to convict without corroborating evidence such as a second witness or physical evidence.

Secondly, the requirement for reasonable doubt is because the state generally has far more resources than an individual, and for those that point to Pell's barristers, the state had equally qualified barristers and an entire Pell task force to gather evidence.

Finally, to those that still steadfastly believe in Pell's guilt, you have the right to do so just as catholics have the right to believe in the infallibility of the Pope.

Rabbi Marianne Williamson wrote:

"No conventional therapy can release us from a deep
and abiding psychic pain. Through prayer we find what
we cannot find elsewhere - a peace that is not of this
world."

At this time I'm wishing you all the very happy things
that this special time of Easter brings and I hope that
your Easter basket is filled with joy, blessings, and love
for you and your family.

May we pray that all church leaders carry out their
promise to protect and pledge to heal the most vulnerable
in their dioceses.

May we pray that all parish communities affected by abuse
find healing and reconciliation.

May we pray that those who've been abused and their
families find comfort, healing, and peace.

On a lighter note here's a few Easter bunny jokes to
share:

What do you call a rabbit with fleas?
Bugs Bunny.

What do you get when you pour hot water into a
rabbit hole?
Hot cross bunnies.

What did the Easter bunny say to the carrot?
Nice gnawing you.

What is the Easter Bunny's favourite kind of music?
Hip-hop.

How does an Easter bunny keep his fur looking so good?
Hare-spray.

Please remember to treat everyone with kindness and respect.

Stay safe.