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More than half the book covers material already known about Pell and detailed by David Marr and others. This section details Pell's response as a priest and as an administrator to the abuse of fellow priests.
We are taken into the scenario of the Ballarat abusers and asked to consider whether it was possible for all this abuse to go on without Pell having an inkling about it.
Later we read of Pell's reaction as a bishop to the abusers in his diocese and just how hard hearted and lacking empathy he could be to those situations. We read how he played for keeps and was quite prepared to use the full weight of the church's resources to win legal cases by simply exhausting the other side. We conclude that here is a man without a charitable bone in his body and also that it is highly unlikely that he knew nothing.
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We are taken into the scenario of the Ballarat abusers and asked to consider whether it was possible for all this abuse to go on without Pell having an inkling about it.
Later we read of Pell's reaction as a bishop to the abusers in his diocese and just how hard hearted and lacking empathy he could be to those situations. We read how he played for keeps and was quite prepared to use the full weight of the church's resources to win legal cases by simply exhausting the other side. We conclude that here is a man without a charitable bone in his body and also that it is highly unlikely that he knew nothing.
The second part of the book details the cases where Pell is accused of abusing boys himself and presumably the matters that have now brought him before the Victorian courts.
These cases include the touching of at least one altar boy in the 1960s, the touching of several boys over several years in the Ballarat swimming pools in the 1970s, the possible exposing himself to three boys in a surf club change room in the 1980s and, perhaps the most serious issue, more serious abuse of two choristers in St Patrick's Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. Taken together it seems most likely that there is something there. The question will be whether there is sufficient evidence in any one case to secure a conviction given the the elapsed time involved.
These cases include the touching of at least one altar boy in the 1960s, the touching of several boys over several years in the Ballarat swimming pools in the 1970s, the possible exposing himself to three boys in a surf club change room in the 1980s and, perhaps the most serious issue, more serious abuse of two choristers in St Patrick's Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. Taken together it seems most likely that there is something there. The question will be whether there is sufficient evidence in any one case to secure a conviction given the the elapsed time involved.
The book is quite well written and will serve as a useful guide to the reader interested in following the upcoming court cases.
The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on
Wednesday that a significant portion of investigative journalist Louise
Milligan’s notes relating to her book, Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell, were
‘‘unreadable’’, with the cardinal’s lawyers requesting a court order that she
read out and record her notes before she gives evidence on Monday.
Cardinal Pell, 76, faces multiple
historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants. He is facing
a hearing to determine whether he stands trial. Details of the charges are yet
to be revealed. He has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Cardinal
Pell’s barrister Robert Richter, QC, requested Ms Milligan read her notes into
a dictaphone while one of his team transcribed them for her.
‘‘They’re in
shorthand, they cover a lot of territory, but they are in her own style of
shorthand … they’re unreadable,’’ he said.
Mr Richter said Ms Milligan’s lawyers told his team ‘‘she was too busy and didn’t have the time’’ to re-submit the notes by Monday, but he argued it would be ‘‘highly undesirable and time consuming’’ for her to read the notes out as she is cross-examined.
‘She should be told that the time will be taken because it has to be taken in fairness to the accused,’’ Mr Richter said.
Ms Milligan handed over research notes for the book and background material used to prepare TV reports for the national broadcaster to Cardinal Pell’s lawyers in January as they prepared his defence to historical sexual assault charges.
The names of confidential sources were redacted to protect their identity.
Ms Milligan is expected to be grilled on the contents of the notes by Cardinal Pell’s lawyers next week.
Her book was pulled from the shelves of Victorian booksellers before the hearing began.
The request was supported by prosecutors and Magistrate Belinda Wallington.
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