The Pell acquittal exposes Australia’s kangaroo court system

The case against Pell rested solely on the testimony of the complainant, whose identity was suppressed because of court procedure in sexual abuse cases. Sources who grew up with the complainant in Ballarat told the writer that the complainant had been sexually abused at some time at school. The complainant's mother initially contacted an organisation called Broken Rites to tell them that her son said he'd been abused by a parish priest. Six months after, that she contacted them again and it was then that St Patrick's Cathedral came out and the name of George Pell mentioned as the abuser.

Many saw the prosecution of Pell as a trial of the Catholic Church. The suppression of evidence during the trial did not allow the public to see the facts of the case. The only information available was the negative media campaigns against Pell. It was only at the appeal, several months after Pell was convicted, that any of the facts of the case came out. However, few were interested in the facts, as vocal groups were in venting their hate towards Pell. Only a small handful of legal and media commentators looked at the crucial issue of whether a reasonable doubt about guilt existed in the case.

The High Court 7-0 decision to acquit Pell puts the 2-1 decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal to uphold the conviction in scrutiny. Why did two senior Victorian judges ignore Pell's evidence of alibi? Why did two senior judges dismiss the facts that Pell had little opportunity after mass to be in the sacristy as described by the complainant? Why was the burden of proof so much on the defence?

This indicates that there is a danger that the court has been found wanting in serving justice, where reform needs to be discussed urgently, if the system is going to operate without fear or favour.

There are deeper political issues here. Back in 2013, the Victorian Police Force and Catholic Church were at war with each other over sexual abuse within the church. There were some within the force who wanted to teach the church a lesson. There remain questions about the integrity of the taskforce in handling complainants and the whole Pell investigation. There are also questions as to why the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) continued with a weak case.

There are already calls for a Royal Commission into the Pell case to question the role of the media, police force, and judiciary. There is also concern that any such Royal Commission may not be able to look at the issues objectively in the state of Victoria.

The Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews has also been found wanting in his behavior. Rather than address the issues of integrity and even legality within arms of the government, Andrews chose to placate the survivors of sexual abuse, who have been done a gross disservice by the shoddy work of the police force and DPP. The complainant in the Pell case was put under years of unnecessary stress, and now it will be much more difficult to successfully prosecute pedophile priests through the judicial system.

The symbolism of Pell being released during the month of lent just before Easter will not be unnoticed in future pro-church narratives. However, Pell will very soon see the inside of a courtroom very soon with eight civil suits against him over sexual abuse by victims. Only last week, new allegations surfaced against Pell for sexual abuse, which are yet to unfold. In addition, the federal attorney-General, Christine Porter said that full Royal Commission Report into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which focused on the Catholic Church in Ballarat, which includes testimony from Pell, will be released.