Print friendly
An Australian comedy group says it wants to weld ‘convicted paedophile’ to the description under a plaque of Cardinal George Pell.
Shortly after Pell’s child sex abuse appeal was dismissed last Wednesday, Australian comedy group The Chaser visited St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, where a commemorative plaque dedicated to the imprisoned cleric is on display.
In the first of two videos shared to Facebook, funnyman Charles Firth used Blu-Tack to stick a golden sticker to the plaque, which read ‘convicted pedophile’.
It was quickly removed so the group returned to add another gold-coloured plate to the plaque, this time using super glue.
Footage of both attempts spread online through Facebook and have been widely viewed and shared – although the Church claims the footage is fake.
“The plaque of Cardinal Pell has not been defaced and the Chaser video was doctored on Photoshop,” the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney says.
“The message hasn’t been put on the plaque.”
Firth says the photoshopping allegations by the church are “absurd”.
“Of course the footage isn’t doctored. I’m very flattered that they think we could photoshop a whole video…
“The more likely scenario is that someone senior in the Church … came over and took down the evidence before we could get in trouble.”
Firth is vowing to try to add his words to Pell’s plaque again.
“We think it should stay up there, but in an updated form. We’re not in the business of denying what’s happened in the past: that’s what the Catholic Church does,” Firth says.
The Church says the plaque will “remain on church grounds“ until “all avenues of appeal have been exhausted”.
Source
Related Posts:
News category: World.
