# Oh poor George (Cardinal Pell)...might have been easier to come home!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [February 17, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315 "2016-02-17T03:42:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 22
### Author:  [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2018, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/421 "2018-12-20T23:14:24Z")
Um. I don’t think I’ve seen a post by Bricker for weeks. It would feel rather nasty if he’s been seriously ill or something while he’s being taunted for non-appearance, you know?
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### Author:  [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/422 "2018-12-20T23:50:36Z")
Bricker last posted more than 5 weeks ago: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21323378#post21323378](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21323378#post21323378)
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### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/423 "2018-12-21T02:40:38Z")
Last activity was on the 15th of this month though. So he might not be posting, but as recently as the 15/12 he was logged in.
I really don’t care if he shows in this thread or not. What I DO hope is that he might do a bit of self-reflection and perhaps not insist on being so adamant of his right-ness in the future. We are all fallible human beings, even lawyers it seems.
Merry Christmas **Bricker.** 🙂
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### Author:  [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2018, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/424 "2018-12-21T09:37:25Z")
> [@Giles](#):
>
> Bricker last posted more than 5 weeks ago: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21323378#post21323378](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21323378#post21323378)
Good riddance.
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### Author:  [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/425 "2019-01-02T04:46:38Z")
[Unfair conviction?](https://nypost.com/2018/12/31/the-unfair-anti-catholic-conviction-of-cardinal-george-pell/amp/)
Submitted without comment
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### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2019, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/426 "2019-01-02T05:52:20Z")
> [@EscAlaMike](#):
>
> [Unfair conviction?](https://nypost.com/2018/12/31/the-unfair-anti-catholic-conviction-of-cardinal-george-pell/amp/)
>
> Submitted without comment
Given that I’m Australian, I haven’t heard whether an appeal has been lodged. BUT, I am sure that if his appeal has any warrant, then the verdict will be overturned.
Until then he is a convicted child abuser.
And that cite? I’ve never heard of the New York Post. Is that a Murdoch rag?
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### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2019, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/427 "2019-01-02T05:55:03Z")
> [@kambuckta](#):
>
> And that cite? I’ve never heard of the New York Post. Is that a Murdoch rag?
I googled, nailed it in one.
😃
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/428 "2019-01-02T20:37:14Z")
It’s also an opinion piece by a Catholic theologian, with other articles like [“Won’t atheist Stephen Hawking be surprised now that he’s dead and gets to meet Jesus & gets a fully functioning body?”](https://nypost.com/2018/12/24/stephen-hawkings-big-christmas-day-surprise/) and [“Who do those Senators think they are, questioning Brett Kavanaugh?”](https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/10/the-kavanaugh-battle-viewed-from-rome/)
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### Author:  [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/429 "2019-02-26T02:35:18Z")
[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pell-trial-why-cardinal-court-case-held-in-secret/10233118](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pell-trial-why-cardinal-court-case-held-in-secret/10233118) why his trial was held in secret
[George Pell guilty of sexually abusing choirboys - ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pell-guilty-child-sexual-abuse-court-trial/10837564) what we can now know as the suppression order has been lifted.
Oh happy day.
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### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/430 "2019-02-26T22:40:38Z")
Fabulous new, rancid old scumbag that he is.
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### Author:  [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2019, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/431 "2019-02-27T08:59:42Z")
“his lawyer, Robert Richter, described one of Pell’s offences as a “plain vanilla sexual penetration case where the child is not actively participating”…”
That’s one hell of a plea for mitigation.
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### Author:  [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2019, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/432 "2019-02-27T11:33:11Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#):
>
> “his lawyer, Robert Richter, described one of Pell’s offences as a “plain vanilla sexual penetration case where the child is not actively participating”…”
>
> That’s one hell of a plea for mitigation.
That must be the most inept mitigation plea I’ve ever heard.
‘After all, it was only plain vanilla sex abuse of children, nothing serious. It happens every day in the Church. My client only violently forced those boys to suck his cock, pulled down their pants and felt them up, and masturbated in front of them. He could just as easily have fucked them too. He wanted to, but he carefully restrained himself out of a refined sense of holy delicacy and a hatred of homosexuality.’
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### Author:  [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2019, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/433 "2019-02-27T12:04:38Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#):
>
> That must be the most inept mitigation plea I’ve ever heard.
Ever get a feeling that just maybe the defence lawyer’s heart isn’t in it?
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/434 "2019-02-27T13:37:39Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#):
>
> Ever get a feeling that just maybe the defence lawyer’s heart isn’t in it?
I think it’s the exact opposite - he’ll say anything to defend his clients. But he clearly misjudged what the effect of his [victim-blaming arguments](https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/george-pells-lawyer-robert-richter-qc-tells-court-sex-crimes-against-children-were-vanilla/news-story/20e0459998f5eb9c458c498002c8225f) would be.
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### Author:  [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/435 "2019-02-27T22:14:27Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#):
>
> That must be the most inept mitigation plea I’ve ever heard.
>
> ‘After all, it was only plain vanilla sex abuse of children, nothing serious. It happens every day in the Church. My client only violently forced those boys to suck his cock, pulled down their pants and felt them up, and masturbated in front of them. He could just as easily have fucked them too. He wanted to, but he carefully restrained himself out of a refined sense of holy delicacy and a hatred of homosexuality.’
Holy crap yes. They should have stuck to ‘well my client still says he doesn’t do it and we’ll be appealing’ not this ‘oh it wasn’t so bad’ shit.
I may as well say - I’m actually really surprised by this verdict and based on what’s been reported about the case, I doubt if I could have convicted on the evidence. He’s never struck me as really fitting the profile of a dedicated pedophile - just a terrible human being for other reasons - and it’s a one witness case.
However, having been convicted of course the sentence should reflect the seriousness of the crime he was actually convicted of
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### Author:  [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/436 "2019-02-28T04:34:18Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#):
>
> I may as well say - I’m actually really surprised by this verdict and based on what’s been reported about the case, I doubt if I could have convicted on the evidence.
We can’t judge this case based only on media reports. It’s a very different thing when when you are sitting in court day after day, listening to all the evidence in great detail, and hearing the people involved in person.
The jury members who _were_ in court and who listened to many hours of testimony, and many hours of intense cross-examination, and many hours of opposing arguments, convicted him. We can’t say they were wrong.
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### Author:  [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2019, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/437 "2019-02-28T04:49:48Z")
A good article:
[The Kid and The Choirboy – the harrowing story of George Pell’s victims](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/28/the-kid-and-the-choirboy-the-harrowing-story-of-george-pells-victims)
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### Author:  [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2019, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/438 "2019-02-28T07:32:21Z")
That was a very good article - thanks for posting that
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2019, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/439 "2019-02-28T08:23:30Z")
Apparently good grounds for successfully appealing based on unreasonableness of verdict:
> **[George Pell has good chance of winning appeal against convictions, expert says](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/28/george-pell-has-good-chance-of-winning-appeal-against-convictions-expert-says)**
>
> Law professor says overturning the verdict on the basis of unreasonableness is ‘the defence’s best shot’
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### Author:  [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-poor-george-cardinal-pell-might-have-been-easier-to-come-home/746315/440 "2019-02-28T14:29:59Z")
> [@PastTense](#):
>
> Apparently good grounds for successfully appealing based on unreasonableness of verdict:
> [George Pell has good chance of winning appeal against convictions, expert says | George Pell | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/28/george-pell-has-good-chance-of-winning-appeal-against-convictions-expert-says)
It’s very hard to get enough evidence to stick a conviction after so much time. This scumbag ensured that numerous priests slid under the radar for years, long enough to make it very unlikely that they’ll ever pay for what they did. And in repayment, the Catholic church protected him. Well, joke’s on them. Protecting these fuckers will do far more harm to the church than just getting rid of them would have done.
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