By Matthew Lau
The High Court of Australia has this week announced that it has unanimously quashed Cardinal George Pell’s convictions on historical sexual abuse charges.
Australia’s highest-ranking church official was set free from Barwon Prison in Victoria on Tuesday 7 April after spending 405 days of his six-year prison term for his wrongful conviction of attacks on two choirboys after a Sunday Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996.
The appeal bid was based on two grounds – firstly, that Chief Justice Ann Ferguson and President Chris Maxwell made an error in requiring Pell to prove the offending was “impossible” in order to raise reasonable doubt. Secondly, his lawyers argued the judges erred in concluding the guilty verdicts were “not unreasonable”, because of findings there was reasonable doubt as to his guilt.
Cardinal Pell released a statement upon his release on 7 April, consistently maintaining his innocence while “suffering from a serious injustice”.
“This has been remedied today with the High Court’s unanimous decision. I look forward to reading the judgment and reasons for the decision in detail,” the 78-year-old prelate said.
“I hold no ill will toward 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.
“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,” he continued.
“The point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not. The only basis for long-term healing is truth and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all.”
Perth’s Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB believes justice has been served for those who have been convinced of Cardinal Pell’s innocence, simultaneously acknowledging the many who have suffered greatly through this process that has now reached its conclusion.
“The sexual abuse of minors is a serious crime with devastating effects on the abused person and their families. Anyone guilty of such a crime must be punished according to the law,” Archbishop Costelloe wrote in a press release dated 7 April.
“The Catholic Church remains fully committed to the safety of children and young people. Any person with allegations of sexual abuse by Church personnel should go to the police. Our Catholic Professional Standards Office stands ready to assist people to do so.”
Irrespective of people’s views on the decision of the High Court, Archbishop Costelloe appealed to everyone to remain calm, measured and compassionate in our reactions and responses.
“I would also plead with everyone in our society to join in a common effort to eradicate the scourge of sexual abuse from our communities and our institutions. This is what our children and young people need from us.”
Due to social distancing measures in Australia to stem the spread of the coronavirus and the closure of some state borders in the country, the verdict was delivered by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel in a near empty room in the High Court registry in her home state of Queensland, rather than at the High Court in Australia’s capital Canberra.
Upon his release from Victoria’s high risk and maximum-security prison, Cardinal Pell gave special thanks for all the prayers and thousands of letters of support.
“I want to thank in particular my family for their love and support and what they had to go through; my small team of advisors; those who spoke up for me and suffered as a result; and all my friends and supporters here and overseas.
“Also my deepest thanks and gratitude to my entire legal team for their unwavering resolve to see justice prevail, to throw light on manufactured obscurity and to reveal the truth.
“Finally, I am aware of the current health crisis. I am praying for all those affected and our medical frontline personnel,” Cardinal Pell concluded.
The Vatican had said Cardinal Pell faced an abuse investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, but that investigation was put on hold awaiting the conclusion of the Australian legal process.
On the same day of Cardinal Pell’s quittance, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President Archbishop Mark Coleridge welcomed the outcome while recognising that the High Court’s decision “will be devastating for others”.
“The safety of children remains supremely important not only for the bishops, but for the entire Catholic community. Any person with allegations of sexual abuse by Church personnel should go to the police,” the Archbishop of Brisbane stated.