George Pell and conservatism

Weigel is a Catholic, but one that would be described as belonging to the religious right. In the Denver Catholic blog Weigel claims that the Pell verdict is "our Dreyfus Case. He states that Dreyfus, a Jew, "was framed".

"The conviction of Cardinal George Pell in December 2018 on charges of "historic sexual abuse" is this generation's Dreyfus Affair." Weigel writes.

The second trial (of George Pell) , amazingly, ended with a 12-0 verdict for conviction: even though the accuser's charges were never corroborated by anyone; even though police incompetence in investigating the alleged scene of the crime was fully demonstrated; and even though the cardinal's defense showed that 10 implausible things would have had to occur simultaneously, within a carefully controlled space of Melbourne's St. Mary's Cathedral, for the charges to be true.

Alfred Dreyfus is, however, ominously similar to the unhinged loathing of secular progressives for the bogeyman George Pell.

Cardinal Pell embodies what the cultural and political left in Australia fears and hates: Christian doctrinal and moral orthodoxy,

Weigel describes the charges against Pell as "uncorroborated and unproven" He also states that Australia is "on trial"

He supports the normal conservative positions of anti-abortion, gay marriage, and managing climate change, along with an anti New Atheism.

For those who do not know, the New Atheism is the view that superstition, religion and irrationalism should be countered, by rational argument. Its best exposition could be found in Bertrand Russell's 1927 essay Why I Am Not a Christian.

The Australian conservatives might also question the verdict of the Pell trial, but they are not Catholics and it is unlikely that they would go as far as Weigel.

This opinion piece attempts to answer the question why do conservatives support Pell? This answer is speculative, so comments and other opinions are strongly encouraged. The answer put forward by this piece is that conservative thinking lacks empathy, even morality, and therefore they (a) have no sympathy or support for those who are damaged by paedophiles, and (b) they wish to support those who think the way others in their tribe think. It is just tribal warfare at work. Read this On Line Opinion Piece. Another speculative answer is in the old saying "Birds of a Feather flock together" a proverb in the English language since the mid-1500s. It suggests that people with similar ideas and beliefs stick together. They also support each other for safety reasons. If only one stood out alone, he or she could easily be picked off by predators – or at least by those who have more facts at the ready.