Two years ago, when this story came out, I asked some friends and fellow journalists, “Is this the trigger-pull on Pell?”
At the time, of course, his name wasn’t even being mentioned.
But as the events unfolded that would later be referred to as “Vatileaks II,” media reports of new allegations of financial mismanagement at the Vatican left the question open of whether Pell, as the man put in place to sort things out, would be in the crosshairs.
At the time, there was already a creeping sense that Pell, during the tenure of his investigation into the Vatican bank (also known as the Institute for the Works of Religion, or IOR), had quickly become persona non grata.
When he signed on to the 13 Cardinals Letter expressing concern about how the Synod was being conducted — something Francis was reported to have taken rather personally — his fall from grace accelerated.
Things were quiet for a while, particularly after Pope Francis pulled the plug on his own audit of the Vatican bank in September last year.
And then, this week, things exploded.
Allegations that Pell engaged in sexual molestation decades ago originally surfaced two years ago, but have now transitioned from an investigation into formal charges.
According to sources with knowledge of the Australian cardinal, the media in his home country have been hostile towards him for many years, and he isn’t well-loved by a significant portion of the clergy there.
Pell’s own response has been an eagerness to finally have his day in court and fight the accusations he categorically denies.
Nevertheless, in an article by Nancy Flory at The Stream, the entire affair is characterized as a “witch hunt” designed to destroy Pell’s reputation:
“Pell can never receive a fair trial,” writes The Australian columnist Angela Shanahan. She is describing the “media witch-hunt” that has dogged Cardinal George Pell for two years.
New and vague charges — of “historic sexual offenses” — were filed against Cardinal Pell yesterday morning. Cardinal Pell has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual abuse leveled against him.
Still, the media in Australia have repeated claims about the Cardinal’s guilt. They’ve printed leaked information about the investigation against Pell, and claimed that charges were “imminent.”
And a hostile book on Cardinal Pell (Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell) came out in May. Continue reading
- Steve Skojec is the Founding Publisher and Executive Director of OnePeterFive.com.