by smiddy3 4 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
Today Cardinal Pell received a sentence of 6 years in jail with a 3 years & 8 months before he is eligible for parole.
And he has been put on the sex offenders register list for the rest of his life.
His appeal case comes up in June .
I wonder what Pope Francis will do now ,wait till after his appeal is heard before he acts ?
A statement from the Labor leader Bill Shorten:
My thoughts today are with all those Australians for whom this case reawakens old trauma and all those Australians still mourning someone stolen by the pain of child abuse.
We can never underestimate the courage and resilience it takes for a survivor of child abuse to seek justice.
One of the cold hard truths revealed by prime minister Gillard’s royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse was that survivors and victims who sought help were seldom believed.
Instead, against the weight and power of both church and the state, they were marginalised, shamed and reabused. For decades, institutions chose to cover for offenders and conceal their crimes because they valued their reputations more than the lives of children in their care.
Last year, as a parliament and a nation we apologised for the abuse, the neglect, the wilful blindness, the cries for help that were heard and ignored. But saying sorry wasn’t the end of the road. The test is actions, not words. That’s why we need faster progress on national redress for survivors and why every institution needs to sign up, immediately.
I never thought I would say this but Bill Shorten is earning my respect more and more. He spoke like a leader, you would think he was already our Prime Minister.
This comes after ex Prime Ministers have shown their support for the already convicted Pell.
I hope more victims find the strength to see that their abusers are brought to answer for their crimes. No man is too important to be brought to justice, even one of the highest Catholic officials.
Listener:
Absolutely! These words deserve a nice frame and hung on the wall. And they apply for Watchtower officials too.
I hope more victims find the strength to see that their abusers are brought to answer for their crimes. No man is too important to be brought to justice, even one of the highest Catholic officials.
Atlantis!
I think one recent anecdotal story about Pell, illustrates what sort of person he is.
An abuse survivor alleges he spoke to Pell about the priest who abused him, and Pell replied, "Did you enjoy it!" It appears that he had little sympathy for anyone who was abused by a catholic priest. (An attitude that many elders seem to have).
Its hard to feel any sympathy (in connection with his age and health) for him as he begins his jail sentence, particularly as he was this christian churches"enforcer' for the sex rules instituted by the church (e,g, sex only in marriage, adultery, homosexuality estc)
