Pell-penned prison letter “arrogant”

A clerical abuse survivor says convicted Australian paedophile Cardinal George Pell is “arrogant”.

His claim relates to Pell’s prison-penned letter linking his suffering in jail to that of Jesus Christ suffering on the cross.

Stephen Woods says he is not surprised by “anything other than the level of arrogance” in the letter, which was posted on Twitter by ‘Cardinal George Pell Supporters’ last Friday night.

Both the post and the account have since been taken down.

Woods says Pell’s positive spin on his suffering sounds on the level of craziness of a Monty Python’s Flying Circus scene.

“I think that any analysis of him suffering on a par with Jesus is not only cynical and perverse, but it shows the level of arrogance and lack of remorse that he has towards sex crimes.

“Jesus condemned any sort of corruption, whether it be moral or physical or societal.”

The Department of Justice is investigating whether Pell wrote the letter, and his involvement in the Twitter post.

It is an offence to commission other individuals to post something on social media on behalf of a prisoner, according to a Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson.

Any contraventions could lead to disciplinary action.

While prisoners have a legal right to send letters, the department can withhold mail under certain circumstances.

Letters that are abusive, threatening or harassing and which encourage illegal activities that jeopardise the security of the prison system or that are regarded as distressing or traumatic to the victim can be withheld.

According to Australian media, the outcome of Pell’s appeal will be made known next Wednesday.

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