Prison Journal: The Cardinal Makes His Appeal (Volume 1)

Pell was always, from the first, plainly innocent of the charges against him. One has only to watch the videotaped police interview -- I could use the term "ambush", but for the gravity of the allegations -- of him in Rome to get a feel for the man. However, my own experience with Pell goes back before the leveling of the charges.Pell, some years ago -- I believe it was around 2011 or so -- appeared on the Australian show "Q & A" in a debate with Richard Dawkins. Although one could marvel at Pell's eloquence and historical understanding, there was more to it than that. This viewer was struck immediately, and permanently, by his manly comportment. There was nothing of the effete which signals predatory depth; that bland, ovine posture meant to conceal the wolfish fires beneath. Instead, this was an Australian country-boy in the garb of a Prince of the Church; a farm-boy athlete (Pell was nearly a professional Australian footballer) who expressed himself bluntly, almost negligently, in curt monosyllabic slabs of expression. I am reminded of the nickname for Aquinas -- the "Dumb Ox." Dawkins, by comparison, was alternately petty and hysterical, particularly in that sublime moment where Pell (to a tutti of laughter from the audience) offered a retort to Dawkins's materialistic explanation of creation "ex nihilo." "It's a bit strange to have to argue over the definition of nothing." Dawkins, clearly caught out, embarrassed, almost denuded in the face of the audience's derision, could only sputter with rage.So, then, this book only confirms that impression of Pell. And what is more fascinating is how his prison experience has only honed that "country boy" edge. His skepticism -- yes, this man is, in the grand tradition of Augustine or More, a "nervous" Catholic. His reflections on his illness, his privations, his insomnia, are often rebukes against the spiritual super-hero stuff of the medieval Spanish mystics. Particularly pungent in this respect is his co-signing of St. Therese of Lisieux's endorsement of sleep as another form of prayer. "Parents love children while they sleep," to paraphrase the Little Flower -- so too, does God love us when we sleep.A final note -- I received this book a day or so ago, and am nearly half-way through it. This is a particularly easy read -- Pell is a man one could have a beer with on Saturday night, and then listen to go on for hours the following morning at Sunday mass. Only he would be too solicitous of any headaches or throbbing eyeballs in the pews to make such a demand. "My yoke is sweet," said Christ. Pell offers us that sweet yoke, as well.

How the trial and imprisonment of Cardinal George Pell could happen is unfathomable. That it did happen is a black mark on the Australian justice system. That the charges were dismissed 7-0 by the Australian High Court shows the injustice of what went before, as well as that justice prevailed after 13 months imprisonment.This Prison Journal (Volume 1) covers the first twenty weeks of the imprisonment of George Pell. There is a diary entry for each day of that twenty-week period. In the end, Pell is still waiting in solitary confinement for the verdict from the two-day appeal which came during the 15th week of imprisonment.Cardinal Pell served as a scapegoat for the unconscionable sins of the Catholic Church in the sex abuse crisis. In the end, he was not found personally guilty of any of them. The charges against Pell were preposterous, considering when and where the offense was supposed to have taken place. The first trial ended with a hung jury (September 2018). At a retrial, Pell was found guilty (December 2018). He was imprisoned (February 2019) and sentenced to six years (March 2019). He appealed to the Supreme Court of Victoria (April 2019); the appeal was rejected 2-1 (August 2019). In April 2020, the Australian High Court overturned all convictions by a 7-0 decision.The editor's column of Quadrant summed this all up thusly: "Those of us who still believe the traditional notion of the law's majesty remains an essential social pillar that helps preserve us from barbarism can only hope that the B-grade spectacle we have witnessed at so many places in the persecution of George Pell is an aberration and not a portent of some squalid, unwatchable future" (p. 348). Let us hope and pray.As for the journal, the daily entries cover the mundane tediousness of solitary confinement, his schedule of visits and daily exercise. They also include the substance of Pell's daily prayer and meditation, and what he read in and reflected on from the Breviary. And more.Word is that there will be Volumes 2 and 3. It will be a great service if there are.Update: We read this for our parish book club and discussed it on 4/9/21, generally to positive reviews.

A fascinating read of a very traumatic time for the cardinal. Detailed daily journal that reveals the man in great and surprising insights, so unexpected as he went through horrendous incarceration as an innocent victim. But finally vindicated by 7 High Court justices

It could happen to anyone, simply get accused of something and be found guilty by public opinion and colleagues.The presumption of innocence is no longer a right in many cases.The truth eventually surfaces, luckily he had supporters that kept him going.

Very moving to read.

The book I ordered arrived in perfect condition, within the stipulated time. I am completely satisfied with the service.

An every day meditation from a good man at the centre of a storm.