Cardinal George Pell has broken his long silence since his exoneration by a unanimous vote of Australia’s highest court. The Cardinal confirms what was obvious all along to anyone not blinded by prejudice: he was framed.
Of course, the list of figures and institutions lined up against Pell was formidable and lengthy: everyone from left-wing journalists to a corrupt police force – and, worst of all, some of his own fellow churchmen. Stunning revelations unearthed last month showed that millions of dollars were transferred from the Vatican to Australia, allegedly to influence Cardinal Pell’s trial.
As Pell says, he is just the latest – and, all things considered, perhaps the luckiest – person to be targeted by shadowy figures for trying to clean up the Vatican’s finances.
In a candid and wide-ranging interview on the flagship program, ‘Sette Storie’ broadcast on the Italian public broadcaster, RAI 1, Tuesday night (AEDT), Cardinal Pell said that historically, every senior figure who has to reform the Holy See’s financial management systems has been subjected to reputational attacks – and worse.
“Worse”, in this case, meaning murder.
“Every single one, with very few exceptions, has been publicly attacked in one way or another … let’s not forget what happened to [Vatican banker Roberto] Calvi who committed suicide under a bridge in London with his hands behind his back … which is a very strange way to hang yourself,” he told the interviewer, Monica Maggioni.
“And we shouldn’t forget what happened to that other one, Sindona, who was found poisoned in prison …. tempi antichi [ancient times.] Today, more often than not they attack by destroying reputations.”
Pell’s reference to “ancient times” is apparently to ancient Roman political skullduggery, which is rife with poison and murder. Michele Sindona was an Italian banker and secretive Freemason, with alleged Sicilian Mafia connections, who was killed by cyanide-laced coffee while in prison for murder. Ancient times, indeed.
Cardinal Pell said his family are convinced that if the Mafia or the Masons had attempted to destroy his reputation, it would have been preferable to being attacked internally, from inside the Catholic Church: “It is much worse if someone inside the Church wishes to destroy you,” he said.
“It’s for this reason that I hope that there will never be enough evidence to prove that Vatican money was used if not to corrupt directly, at least to poison the public atmosphere against me. I hope there is no proof of this for the good of the Church.”
Pell was not the only Catholic figure targeted in Australia.
Cardinal Pell also disclosed that Danny Casey, the Sydney Diocese former business manager who had worked with him in Rome, had had his car set on fire and destroyed: “Of course that was a coincidence because we all know that cars suddenly catch fire all by themselves. Everyone believes there is a connection [between the financial reforms] and what happened in Australia, everyone I work with has no doubt either,” he said.
Despite his ordeal, Pell retains a faith in the Church that might seem almost naive.
“Five years ago, in Germany, Princess Gloria Turn und Taxis told me that the Vatican reminded her of an old aristocratic family that was falling slowly into ruin. They were extravagant, incompetent, and represented ideal territory for robbers. Perhaps this is a little harsh, it is not the whole story but it certainly describes part of the story.”
But if Pell’s faith in the Church seems naive, his deeper faith is clearly the rock on which he sustained hope during long months in prison, for a crime he didn’t commit.
Asked if he felt the weight of being a convicted paedophile from other prisoners, he said “absolutely, yes” but insisted that he suffered no violence and while he found himself in a horrendous situation, promised himself he would not indulge in tears or recrimination.
He said he had been supported by his family and close friends throughout his time in prison and comforted himself with the knowledge that the great majority of churchgoers “did not believe the stories” against him.
“Let’s not forget either, that Christian teachings tell us that good things can be born of suffering. This is a major point of difference between those who have faith and those who don’t … offering my suffering to God had good purpose and this gave me some consolation.”
The Australian
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