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Olde Tyme Religion

Top Vatican cleric Cardinal Pell convicted of child sex crimes

2019-02-26

[PULSE.NG] Australian Cardinal George Pell, who helped elect popes and ran the Vatican's finances, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two choirboys, a court said Tuesday, becoming the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex crimes.

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Down Under

Australian Police Charge Vatican Cardinal with Sechs Offenses

2017-06-29

SYDNEY (AP) -- Australian police charged a top Vatican cardinal on Thursday with multiple counts of "historical" sexual assault offenses, a stunning decision certain to rock the highest levels of the Holy See. Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis' chief financial adviser and Australia's most senior Catholic, is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged in the church's long-running sexual abuse scandal. Pell said he would return to Australia to fight the charges. Victoria state Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said police have summonsed Pell to appear in an Australian court to face multiple charges of "historical sexual assault offenses," meaning offenses that generally occurred some time ago. Patton said there are multiple complainants against Pell, but gave no other details on the allegations against the cardinal. Pell was ordered to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18. For years, Pell has faced allegations that he mishandled cases of clergy abuse when he was archbishop of Melbourne and, later, Sydney. But more recently, Pell himself became the focus of a clergy sex abuse investigation, with Victoria detectives flying to the Vatican last year to interview the cardinal. It is unclear what allegations the charges announced Thursday relate to, but two men, now in their 40s, have said that Pell touched them inappropriately at a swimming pool in the late 1970s, when Pell was a senior priest in Melbourne. Related: Papal adviser Cardinal Pell denies sexual abuse charges, to return to Australia

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Britain

Pell believes West now scared of criticising Islam

2009-03-13

THE West has become scared to criticise Islam and accepts death threats by Muslim extremists as normal, Cardinal George Pell has suggested in a speech in England. The outspoken Catholic Archbishop of Sydney said laws intended to promote tolerance were being used to stifle debate, which was "fermenting intolerance under the surface". It's almost as if the good Cardinal reads Rantburg ... In the March 6 speech at Oxford University, he also attacked a global campaign of "bullying and intimidation" by secular groups trying to drive Christians from public debate and stop churches providing schools, hospitals and welfare. "Many in the West have grown used to practising self-censorship when it comes to Islam, just as we seem to accept that ex-Muslims who criticise Islam and extremism, such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, require round-the-clock police protection," he said. "You can be persecuted for hate speech if you discuss violence in Islam, but there is little fear of a hate-speech prosecution for Muslim demonstrators with placards reading 'Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas'." He said the expense and time of defending frivolous hate-speech allegations and the anxiety from "being enmeshed in a legal process straight out of Kafka" stifled robust discussion. "No one in the West today would suggest that criticism of Christianity should be outlawed," he said. "The secular and religious intolerance of our day needs to be confronted regularly and publicly." Some secularists wanted a one-way street, and sought to drive Christianity not only from the public square but from providing education, health care and welfare to the wider community. "Modern liberalism has strong totalitarian tendencies," he said. Cardinal Pell said a Californian referendum that rejected same-sex marriage had been a focus for demonstrations, violence, vandalism and intimidation of Christians. He said "this prolonged campaign of payback and bullying" would have received much more attention if same-sex marriage supporters had been the victims. It was strange how some of the most permissive groups easily became repressive despite their rhetoric about diversity and tolerance, he said. "Opposition to same-sex marriage is a form of homophobia and therefore bad, but Christianophobic blacklisting and intimidation is passed over in silence," he said. Cardinal Pell said discrimination laws had been used to redefine marriage and the family. Children could now have three, four or five parents, relegating the idea of a child being brought up by his natural mother and father to nothing more than a majority preference. He said last year's Victorian law decriminalising abortion made a mockery of conscientious objection, which had been attacked as merely a way for doctors and nurses to impose their morality on their patients. Cardinal Pell said Christians urgently needed to deepen public understanding about religious freedom.

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Olde Tyme Religion

The archbishop downunder gets it

2006-09-18

SYDNEY'S Catholic Archbishop has hit out at Muslims protesting over comments by the Pope, saying their reaction shows the link in Islam between religion and violence. Cardinal George Pell has also labelled the response of some Australian Muslim leaders to the issue as "unhelpful". Cardinal Pell today backed Pope Benedict, saying the violent reaction to his comments on Islam and violence illustrated his fears. "The violent reactions in many parts of the Islamic world justified one of Pope Benedict's main fears," Cardinal Pell said in a statement. "They showed the link for many Islamists between religion and violence, their refusal to respond to criticism with rational arguments, but only with demonstrations, threats and actual violence. "Our major priority must be to maintain peace and harmony within the Australian community, but no lasting achievements can be grounded in fantasies and evasions." Dr Pell said it was a "sign of hope" that no organised violence had flared in Australia following Pope Benedict's comments. But he said the responses of Australia's mufti, Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali, and of Dr Ameer Ali, of the prime minister's Muslim reference group, were "unfortunately typical and unhelpful". "It is always someone else's fault and issues touching on the nature of Islam are ignored. "Sheik Alhilali often responds to criticism by questioning the intelligence and competence of the questioner or critic," Dr Pell said. Later, on ABC radio, he added of Sheik Alhilali: "I'm tempted to say almost never does he address the criticism of Islam but diverts the question away from it and I think resorts to evasions." Dr Ali said yesterday Muslims in Australia were disappointed by the Pope's comments. "We expect the Pope to follow (in) the footsteps of his predecessor who had been a great builder among communities for the last so many years and not a pope of the crusades," Dr Ali said. Dr Pell said Dr Ali had called on Pope Benedict to be more like Pope John Paul II than Pope Urban II, who called the First Crusade. "In fact the Pope's long speech was more about the weaknesses of the Western world, its irreligion and disdain for religion and he explicitly rejected linking religion and violence," Dr Pell said. "He won't be calling any crusade." Dr Pell sought to draw a distinction between Westerners and Muslims. "Today Westerners often link genuine religious expression with peace and tolerance. "Today most Muslims identify genuine religion with submission (Islam) to the commands of the Koran. "They are proud of the spectacular military expansion across continents, especially in the decades after the Prophet's death. This is seen as a sign of God's blessing." Dr Pell said while he was grateful for the contributions of moderate Muslims, "evil acts done falsely in the name of Islam around the world need to be addressed, not swept under the carpet". Dr Pell has repeatedly said Islam is more warlike than Christianity. In June this year he told the National Catholic Reporter in the US: "It's difficult to find periods of tolerance in Islam."

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Home Front: WoT

Cardinal Pell offends Muslims - again

2006-06-05

Cardinal George Pell has declared yet again Islam is more warlike than Christianity, this time to a US Catholic newspaper. The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney told the National Catholic Reporter Australia hadn't been affected much by Islamic threat following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, but this could change depending "on how many terrorist attacks" Muslim fundamentalists could "bring off successfully". In the interview conducted in Rome with NCR reporter John L Allen, Dr Pell said "the million-dollar question" was whether intolerance was a modern distortion of Islam or arose out of internal logic. "It's difficult to find periods of tolerance in Islam," Australia's top Catholic was quoted as saying. "I'm not saying that they're not there, but a good deal of what is asserted is mythical." It is the second time in a month that Dr Pell has made controversial remarks about Islam. "An' we're keepin' track!" In early April, the religious leader commented that the Koran contained "invocations to violence" and that Islam was an intolerant faith. There goes the Cardinal, hatemongering again...

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Down Under

PM stands by Pell after Islam comments

2006-05-05

Prime Minister John Howard is standing by Australia's top Catholic, as Islamic and other groups question Cardinal George Pell's remarks about the intolerance of the Muslim faith and the Koran's "invocations to violence". Dr Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, defended comments he made in an address to US Catholic business leaders in Florida in February, which were published this week. In his speech, Cardinal Pell questioned the tolerance of Islam. "Considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited," Dr Pell said in the address. He also said there were "so many" invocations to violence in the religion's holy text that he gave up counting after about 70 pages. He stood by these remarks, saying the criticisms were "cliches, smokescreens" to distract and divert attention from the real issues. "Islamic terrorists are not a figment of anyone's imagination and the history of relations with Islam is full of conflict," he said in a statement. "We need a lot of continuing dialogue, based on truth, history and the current situation. "I continue to be completely committed to dialogue with Muslims, to supporting moderate forces on all sides ... and recommend that people read the Koran ... and judge for themselves." Islamic Council of NSW spokesman Ali Roude welcomed Dr Pell's recognition of the need for greater understanding of Islam, but urged him to exercise his leadership more carefully. "We welcome (Dr) Pell's personal efforts to understand Islam but we caution him to avoid making statements that he cannot support with evidence, and that which is likely to reinforce tensions and disharmony within Australian communities," Mr Roude said. Mr Howard said he knew for a fact that Cardinal Pell has been "a strong proponent of good relations between Christianity and Islam". "I think any kind of analysis that somebody makes from his position, and he brings a great intellect to the analysis he makes ... I'm quite sure he is not trying to be unhelpful," Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting. Mr Roude called on Dr Pell to spread a message of love and understanding, and not of fear and hatred "in a climate full of mistrust (and) instability brought about by organised fear-mongering". Peace, respect and understanding were the foundations laid by Pope John Paul II for interfaith dialogue, Mr Roude said. "We reiterate the need to continue our life's journey of dialogue and engagement so that extreme views of any sort do not gain prominence in driving a wedge between all of God's creations," he said.

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Down Under

Koran invokes violence, says Australian Archbishop Pell

2006-05-04

AUSTRALIA'S highest ranking Catholic priest has told an American audience the Koran is punctuated with "invocations to violence" and the central challenge facing Islam lies in the struggle between moderate and extremist forces. Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell said reading Islam's holy book was vital "because the challenge of Islam will be with us for the remainder of our lives". In a speech to leading Catholic businesses in the United States, Dr Pell said the September 11 terrorist attacks had been his wake-up call to understand Islam better. He said there were inconsistencies in claims that Islam was a faith of peace with those that suggested the Koran legitimised the killings of non-Muslims. Factual errors, inconsistencies, anachronisms and other defects were difficult for Muslims to debate openly, Dr Pell said. "In my own reading of the Koran, I began to note down invocations to violence. There are so many of them, however, that I abandoned this exercise after 50 or 60 or 70 pages," he said. Dr Pell's speech was delivered in the United States on February 4 but only appeared on the archdiocese's website on Wednesday.

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Down Under

Gunfire at Sydney Church

2005-12-13

The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, has blamed religious intolerance for a shooting attack on cars outside a Christmas carols ceremony in western Sydney last night. Cardinal Pell says those attending the service at St Joseph's Primary School at Auburn were harassed as it commenced. Towards the end of the event, the local priest heard gunshots. In the morning, staff at the school found their cars had been peppered with bullets. Cardinal Pell says he believes the harassment and the gunshots may be linked to recent ethnic tension in Sydney. "This violence is unacceptable, as unacceptable as the violence perpetrated by Anglo elements at Cronulla beach on Sunday," he said. "I'm deeply concerned about the targeting of Christmas celebrations at schools with students as young as five years of age."

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Down Under

Mel Gibson Asked To Do 'Passion' Sequel

2005-08-06

Hollywood actor-director Mel Gibson has been asked to recreate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the streets of Sydney if the city is selected to host a major Catholic gathering in 2008, a newspaper reported Saturday. Gibson's staging of the Stations of the Cross, a live interpretation of Christ's final hours, would be part of a bid by the city to secure the Catholic Church's World Youth Day in 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The crucifixion reenactment -- similar to scenes from Gibson's hugely successful film "The Passion of the Christ" -- would begin with the Last Supper staged at Sydney's landmark Opera House at sunset, and would end with the crucifixion of Christ at St. Mary's Cathedral, according to bid documents the newspaper said it obtained. The Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, told the newspaper that intermediaries had "started approaches" to Gibson to stage the event. Gibson's involvement with World Youth Day was on the city's "wish list," Pell said. "He might well be attracted. I think his devotion to Christ is very real," he said. The venue for the 2008 gathering, expected to attract an estimated 400,000 young Catholics from 160 countries, will be announced by Pope Benedict XVI on August 21, in Cologne, Germany, the newspaper said. If he makes it extra gory, they might triple their crowd.

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