Denver Catholic

22 SEPTEMBER 14-27, 2019 | DENVER CATHOLIC C onsider this sequence of events, familiar to some but evidently not to others: March 2013: Prior to any credible reports of misbehavior being made against Cardinal George Pell, police in Australia's state of Vic- toria launch "Operation Tethering," a sting aimed at the former archbishop of Melbourne (who by this time is prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the economy. "Tethering " includes newspaper ads seeking information on previously unreported, untoward goings-on at the Melbourne cathedral in the past. Early 2017: The o– ce of Public Prosecutions in Melbourne twice returns a brief to those who mounted "Operation Tethering," criticizing the Victoria Police brief as inadequate for a prosecution. June 2017: Charges of "historic sexual abuse" from 20 years prior are announced by the Director of Public Prosecutions and Pell is ordered home. The cardinal vehemently denies any misconduct and, despite his Vatican diplomatic immunity, immediately returns to Australia to defend his honor and that of the Church. May 2018: At the "committal hearing," a magistrate dismisses sev- eral charges against Pell but sends others to trial, saying that, whatever their arguable plausibility, they should be aired publicly in a criminal court. Meanwhile, a vicious, lynch- mob atmosphere continues to sur- round Cardinal Pell, in public and in much of the Australian media. September 2018: At the trial, the prosecution presents no corroborat- ing evidence that the alleged crimes ever took place; the prosecution's case is the tale told by the com- plainant, who only appears on vid- eotape. Numerous witnesses for the defense testify that the alleged acts of abuse could not have happened in a secured area of a busy cathedral immediately after Sunday Mass, with then-Archbishop Pell fully vested and surrounded by liturgical ministers, in the time-frame alleged. After several days of deliberation, the trial judge tells the jury that he will accept an 11-1 verdict, if one juror is blocking unanimity. The jury then returns a hung verdict — 10-2 for acquittal — the jury foreman weeping when announcing the jury's inability to reach a legal conclusion; other jurors are also reported in tears. December 2018: At Cardinal Pell's retrial, his defense team further demolishes the prosecution case, for which, again, no corroborating evidence is presented. The jury then returns a 12-0 verdict of guilty, shock- ing virtually everyone in attendance at the trial (and, according to some present, the trial judge). March 2019: While sentencing the cardinal to six years in prison, the trial judge never indicates that he agrees with the second jury's verdict, stating only that he is doing what the law requires under the circumstances. June 2019: At an appeal hearing before a three-member panel of the Victoria Supreme Court, the judges sharply criticize the fl imsiness of the prosecution's case. August 21, 2019: The appellate panel rejects Cardinal Pell's appeal by a 2-1 vote. The dissenting judge, Mark Weinberg, is Australia's most prominent criminal-law jurist; the two judges rejecting the appeal have little or no criminal-law experience. Judge Weinberg 's 202-page dissent eviscerates his colleagues' position, which raises the gravest questions as to whether "guilty beyond a rea- sonable doubt" remains the standard necessary for conviction in Victoria — not least on a completely uncorrob- orated charge. In the wake of last month's incom- prehensible and (as measured by Judge Weinberg 's dissent) dangerous rejection of Cardinal Pell's appeal, Catholic voices were heard express- ing (or demanding) respect for the justice system in Australia. Perhaps the Vati can press spokesman must say such things for diplomatic pur- poses, although the reason why dip- lomatic concerns trump truth and justice in the Holy See Press O– ce is unclear. But as this chronology indi- cates, there is no reason to respect a process that reeks of system-failure at every point, from the dubious and perhaps corrupt police investigation through the committal hearing, the two trials, and the appeal. There are guilty parties here. But Cardinal George Pell is not one of them. As this scandalous process approaches the High Court of Austra- lia, friends of Australia, both Down Under and throughout the world, must send a simple message, repeat- edly: George Pell is an innocent man who was falsely accused and has been unjustly convicted of crimes he did not commit. It is not George Pell who is in the dock, now, but the administration of justice in Australia. And the only way to restore justice is for Cardinal Pell to be vindicated by the highest court in the land. Those who cannot bring them- selves to say that, in Australia or else- where, necessarily share in the igno- miny that Australian criminal justice has, thus far, brought upon itself. O n hearing it, many of his dis- ciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" . . . From this time many of his disciples turne d back and no longer followed him. (Jn 6:60 and Jn 6:66) What did Jesus say that caused his disciples to turn their backs on him? He said, directly and repeatedly, "Unless you eat the fl esh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not have life within you." And, to clarify he wasn't speaking symbolically, "My fl esh is real food, and my blood is real drink." He was telling them, for the fi rst time, about his real presence — body, blood, soul and divinity — in the Eucharist. And that sounded just a little too weird for them. According to the Pew Research Center, his modern-day disciples aren't handling the question a whole lot better. A recent study revealed that less than a third of all Catholics believe in transubstantiation — that the Eucharist is actually the body and blood of Christ. Among those who attend Mass weekly, the numbers get slightly better — 63% believe in tran- substantiation. But still, that means that even among regularly practicing Catholics, over a third are either unaware of the doctrine (23%) or are aware but reject it (14%). I am saddened by these results, but not remotely surprised. Nor do I necessarily blame these disbelieving Catholics. How can we expect them to know what they are not aware of or has never adequately been explained to them? A signifi cant majority of baptized Catholics don't attend Mass. And among those who do, most receive little or no instruction about their faith outside the weekly 10-minute homily, which is quickly forgotten, rarely about the Eucharist, and not really intended to function as a complete catechesis on the basics of the faith anyways. I don't think that Pew studied the percentage of diocesan newspaper readers who don't believe in the Real Presence, but given the numbers above, I suspect there are more than a few of you. And so, I think we all could us a brief review. First of all, it is true. Crazy as it seems, we actually believe that a small wafer and a chalice of wine become the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. It has seemed crazy since the beginning, as the passage above demonstrated. What I fi nd interesting is that, when the dis- ciples walked away, Jesus didn't chase them, didn't try to explain that he was only speaking symbolically. Instead, he merely turned to the Twelve and asked if they were going to leave, too. They were as ba¸ ed as the others, but remained because, as they said "Where else would we go? You have the words of eternal life." And so, at the Last Supper, Jesus broke the bread and said, "This is my Body." And the Eucharist was Perspectives The Catholic Diž erence George Weigel is a distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. GEORGE WEIGEL Guest Column Mary Beth is a Denver- based real estate agent and syndicated columnist. She is the author of We're on a Mission from God and Real Love. She can be reached via her website at www.mblovesdenver.com. MARY BETH BONACCI Australian justice in the dock 'This is my body…'

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