Cardinal Pell likely to be stripped of Order of Australia – as it happened

We’ll leave it here for now. Thanks for following along. Here’s the full story from today, and a summary of events below.

• Cardinal George Pell’s appeal against his convictions for child sexual abuse has been dismissed by the Victorian court of appeal. He will remain in jail until at least October 2022, when he will be 81 years old.
• The three-judge court of appeal dismissed Pell’s first grounds for appeal – that the jury acted unreasonably in finding him guilty – by a margin of two to one. The other two grounds of appeal were dismissed unanimously.
• In the summary of the judgment the chief justice, Anne Ferguson, said two of the three judges found the complainant “came across as someone who was telling the truth”. “He did not seek to embellish his evidence or tailor it in a manner favourable to the prosecution,” she said.
• Ferguson and the president of the court of appeal, Chris Maxwell, dismissed all 13 “obstacles” to Pell committing the crime that his lawyers had argued.
• The third judge, Mark Weinberg, said the complainant’s evidence “contained discrepancies” and there was “a significant possibility” Pell had not committed the offences.
• Through his lawyer, Vivian Waller, Pell’s surviving victim said he was relieved by the decision. “The criminal process has been stressful,” he said through Waller. “The journey has taken me to places that in my darkest moments I feared I would not return from.”
• In a statement Pell maintained his innocence. His lawyers are now reviewing the judgment with a view to a possible appeal to the high court.
• The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said his sympathies were with victims of child sexual abuse. “The courts have done their job, they’ve rendered their verdict. That’s the system of justice and it must be respected,” he said.
• The governor general released a statement saying a decision on whether to strip Pell of his Order of Australia medal would not be made until “all legal proceedings have run their course”. That is, the governor general, David Hurley, will wait and see whether there is a high court appeal.
• Archbishop Mark Coleridge, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the bishops believe “all Australians must be equal under the law and accept today’s judgement accordingly”.
  

The Catholic archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, has released a statement very different in tone from the ones we’ve seen from Victoria and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Fisher opens by saying Pell “has strenuously maintained his innocence” from the outset and “continues to do so notwithstanding today’s decision”. He predicts the Vatican “may well wait until the appeal process has been exhausted”.

He calls the judges’ ruling a “split decision” and says that’s “consistent with the differing views of the juries in the first and second trials, as well as the divided opinion amongst legal commentators and the general public”.

Reasonable people have taken different views when presented with the same evidence and I urge everyone to maintain calm and civility.

As the Cardinal may yet decide to appeal the judgment to the High Court of Australia, I am limited in my ability to comment on today’s outcome.

Matters of the Cardinal’s status within the Church can only be determined by the Vatican, not the Church in Australia. I anticipate that the Holy See may well wait until the appeal process has been exhausted.

I recommit myself and the Archdiocese of Sydney to doing all we can to ensure that past crimes are never repeated and that Church environments are the safest possible for children and vulnerable adults.

I pray for and will continue to support survivors of child sexual abuse at the hands of clergy and other members of the Catholic Church so that they may find justice and healing. I again say how sorry I am that you were harmed by people you should have been able to trust. I am conscious how you and your loved ones have had to live with the consequences of abuse for a lifetime.

I know that there are many in the Catholic community and beyond who will find it difficult to come to terms with this judgment, especially those who know the Cardinal and will struggle to reconcile this outcome with the man they know. I thank them for persevering in faith, hope and love.

Further to Scott Morrison’s comments earlier, the governor general has just released a statement indicating that a decision on whether to strip Pell of his Order of Australia medal won’t be made until “all legal proceedings have run their course”.

That is, the governor general, David Hurley, will wait and see whether there is a high court appeal.

“Appointments to the Order of Australia may be terminated and one of the grounds is conviction for a crime or offence under a law of the Commonwealth, State or Territory,” the governor general said.

“Once all legal proceedings have run their course, the Council for the Order of Australia may make a recommendation to me as Chancellor of the Order, which I will act on.”

Earlier Morrison said his “understanding” was that the loss of the appeal today “would result in the stripping of the honours that are decided externally to the government”.

Melissa Davey has published her excellent piece from inside the courtroom today.

“Cardinal George Pell cut a dishevelled figure as he stepped into Melbourne’s supreme court and took his seat in the dock, flanked by two police officers,” she begins.

“His hair had grown long, a large bald patch showing through, and he wore all black, a pop of white showing from his clerical collar. Prison has taken its toll.”

The Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, has also issued a separate statement. He says he respects the court’s decision. “I encourage everyone to do the same,” he says.

Comensoli says the “complexity of the search for the truth in this matter has tested many, and may very well continue to do so”.

My thoughts and prayers are with the man who brought this matter before the courts. I humbly acknowledge it has been a challenging time for him, and I stand ready to offer pastoral care and spiritual help, should he seek it.

In Christian charity, I will ensure that Cardinal Pell is provided pastoral and spiritual support while he serves the remainder of his sentence, according to the teaching and example of Jesus to visit those in prison.

I also want to acknowledge with gratitude the people who have been involved in this case. For many, this has been a demanding and distressing experience.

To the faithful of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, I want to acknowledge the deep impact today’s decision will have for you. My prayer is that all of us might reach out to each other in faith, hope and love, as I do for you at this moment.

He said the archdiocese “continues to work with survivors to offer support for their healing, recovery and well-being.

I re-commit myself and the Archdiocese to a culture that listens, that seeks to bring justice and healing, and that protects children and vulnerable people.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has released a statement on the appeal.

He says the conference believes “all Australians must be equal under the law and accept today’s judgement accordingly”.

“The bishops realise that this has been and remains a most difficult time for survivors of child sexual abuse and those who support them,” Coleridge said in the statement.

“We acknowledge the pain that those abused by clergy have experienced through the long process of the trials and appeal of Cardinal Pell. We also acknowledge that this judgement will be distressing to many people.

“We remain committed to doing everything we can to bring healing to those who have suffered greatly and to ensuring that Catholic settings are the safest possible places for all people, but especially for children and vulnerable adults.”

• Cardinal George Pell’s appeal against his conviction for child sex abuse has been dismissed by the Victorian court of appeal. He will remain in jail until at least October 2022.
• The three-judge court of appeal dismissed Pell’s first grounds for appeal – that the jury acted unreasonably in finding him guilty – by a margin of two to one. The other two grounds of appeal were dismissed unanimously.
• Through his lawyer, Vivian Waller, Pell’s surviving victim said he was relieved by the decision. “The criminal process has been stressful,” he said through Waller. “The journey has taken me to places that in my darkest moments I feared I would not return from.”
• In a statement Pell maintained his innocence. His lawyers are now reviewing the judgment with a view to a possible appeal to the high court.
• The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said it was likely that Pell would lose his Order of Australia medal.

Some lunchtime reading.

21 Aug 201921.54 EDT

Lisa Martin

The Australian Catholic University is resisting renaming the “Pell Centre” at its Ballarat campus.

The university’s vice chancellor, Greg Craven, faced a backlash in March for his opinion piece published in the Australian newspaper which described Pell’s trial as “unfair”. Craven also provided Pell with a character reference.

“The university respects the judicial process and will not be making any comment until all legal avenues, including any further appeals, have concluded,” a university spokeswoman said in a statement.

A petition to change the name on change.org is rapidly gathering signatures.

Cardinal George Pell’s spokeswoman has released a statement. He maintains his innocence. His lawyers are considering a special leave application to the high court.

Cardinal Pell is obviously disappointed with the decision today.

However his legal team will thoroughly examine the judgment in order to determine a special leave application to the high court.

While noting the 2-1 split decision, Cardinal Pell maintains his innocence. We thank his many supporters.

Just on the victim, here is what Chief Justice Anne Ferguson and president of the court of appeal, Justice Chris Maxwell, said about his evidence in the summary of their majority judgment:

Throughout his evidence, [the complainant] came across as someone who was telling the truth. He did not seek to embellish his evidence or tailor it in a manner favourable to the prosecution. As might have been expected, there were some things which he could remember and many things which he could not. And his explanations of why that was so had the ring of truth.