This morning’s announcement that Australian authorities are bringing charges of “historic sexual assault” against Cardinal Pell has made international headlines. Any allegation of sexual abuse, of any kind, involving the Catholic Church understandably commands a considerable media reaction; when it involves a senior member of the curia, even more so.
It is almost impossible to know what to think of the decision to charge Cardinal Pell. Victoria Police, who are bringing the charges, have not specified the number or nature of the accusations. It is not known who the accusers are, or when the alleged incidents are meant to have taken place. Consequently, snap reactions which jump to a conclusion of guilt, of the kind sadly experienced by many clerics and secular public figures, are beyond premature. As Victoria Police noted in their public announcement of the charges, they are as yet completely untested in any court.
