Cardinal George Pell Supporters Now Say

From: Jeremy Krogan 

They speak from experience as what they say is often given as the reason
for causing the right wing pedophilia epidemic.

"You don't need to be a Christian or a Catholic to rape boys, but it sure
makes the job easier", they say.

Cardinal George Pell has lodged an appeal after being found guilty on five
charges of sexually abusing two boys in the 1990s.

But there are many defending him. Some question the verdict, others say it
is inconsistent with his character.

Many of his defenders didn’t attend the trial, and weren’t exposed to the
days’ worth of evidence presented to the court.

Andrew Bolt
andrew bolt
Andrew Bolt questions whether an innocent man has been jailed. Photo: AAP
News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt believes Pell is innocent: “He is a
scapegoat, not a child abuser.”

In his column for the Herald Sun, Bolt went on to say he’d met Pell about
five times and liked him.

“The man I know seems not just incapable of such abuse, but so intelligent
and cautious that he would never risk his brilliant career and good name on
such a mad assault in such a public place.”

Miranda Devine
Bolt’s News Corp colleague Miranda Devine made a similar claim, that Pell
was the victim of a “lynch mob” and “sacrificial lamb” for the Church’s
abuses.

“They hate him because he is a conservative Catholic, the implacable enemy
who stood in the way of ‘progress’ in the Church. While fellow Catholics
crumbled and appeased, he unequivocally defended Church teachings and
refused to compromise over gay marriage, euthanasia, abortion, or wedge
issues such as communion for divorcees. And now they think they’ve won,”
she wrote.

Tony Abbott
Former prime minister and Liberal backbencher Tony Abbott on Wednesday said
the guilty verdict was “devastating”.

“Devastating … for the friends of Cardinal Pell, and as you say, I am one.
Devastating for all who believe in the Catholic Church, and I’m also one of
those,” Mr Abbott said on 2GB radio.

Mr Abbott conceded he had “spoken to him’’ but it took persistent
questioning by 2GB radio’s Ben Fordham for Mr Abbott to concede on
Wednesday that he called him after the verdict was handed down.



— Ben Fordham Show (@SydneyLive2GB) February 27, 2019

John Howard
Another former PM, John Howard, was one of 10 people to write a character
reference for Pell, tabled in court on Wednesday, after learning of his
conviction.

Former PM John Howard on George Pell AFTER he was found guilty of abusing
two children: “None of these matters alter my opinion of the Cardinal.” @
9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/9TNcAKSULP

— Eliza Rugg (@Eliza_Rugg9) February 27, 2019

Craig Kelly
tony abbott and craig kelly
Mr Abbott (left) said he was devastated as Mr Pell’s friend. Mr Kelly
(right) believes Pell could be innocent. Photo: AAP
Conservative Liberal MP Craig Kelly went on Facebook to claim there seems
to have been “a grave miscarriage of justice”.

“I’m not a Catholic and no doubt the church has covered up pedophile
priests that deserve to burn in hell – but I agree with Andrew Bolt, as on
the reports of the evidence, this seems a grave miscarriage of justice.”

Frank Brennan
Father Frank Brennan said he had read most of the court transcript and
believed there were “improbabilities” in the case.


Father Frank Brennan said he read most of the court transcript. Photo: AAP
“Pell has been in the public spotlight for a very long time. There are some
who would convict him of all manner of things in the court of public
opinion no matter what the evidence. There are others who would never
convict him of anything, holding him in the highest regard,” Father Brennan
said in his piece for Eureka Street.

“The criminal justice system is intended to withstand these preconceptions.
The system is under serious strain, however, when it comes to Cardinal
Pell.”

Lyle Shelton


He added: “Like all Australians, I’m deeply angered by clergy child sex
abuse. It is abhorrent & the church has behaved poorly towards victims. But
today’s #cardinalPell verdict is worrying for reasons Fr Frank Brennan
explains. Has an innocent man been condemned?”

Archbishop Peter Comensoli
Also standing by Pell was the Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli, who
said he would visit his friend in prison “as soon as I can get in”.
?
“I am making this distinction between what I believe and what I know or in
fact don’t know,” the Archbishop said in an interview with 3AW radio.
“I stand by my friends. I stand by victim friends, too. I’ve done that in
the past and will continue to do so. It’s how you be a good friend.”
Greg Craven
Greg Craven, the vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University,
accused the media and Victoria Police of combining to “form a pro-
conviction cheer squad”.

“This is where the Pell case has gone terribly wrong. Impartial judge and
jury accepted, parts of the media – notably the ABC and former Fairfax
journalists – have spent years attempting to ensure Pell is the most odious
figure in Australia. They seemed to want him in the dock as an ogre, not a
defendant,” he wrote in The Australian.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
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