The Pell Verdict: Some Reflections
By JOHN YOUNG Interest in the Pell case is worldwide, and I have an added interest because I live in the city of Melbourne where the alleged offenses are supposed to have occurred. Reactions to the unanimous verdict by the Australian High Court to free Cardinal Pell are as one could have predicted. Those who always believed him innocent have rejoiced; those who always thought him guilty have, for the most part, either continued to think so or have refused to concede that they were wrong. Some have taken refuge in the excuse that the High Court found him “not guilty,” but not “innocent.” The fact, of course, is that there is no judicial verdict of innocent: An accused is…Continue Reading