Cardinal Pell's diary: "My cell number 11 and 400 days in prison"

Card. George Pell (Ansa)

• Sexual harassment.

  Cardinal Pell acquitted by the Australian High Court

• Pedophilia, the appeal process for Cardinal Pell has begun in Australia

Share

01 October 2020 "My cell is seven to eight meters long, more than two meters wide on the side of the opaque window, where my bed is; a good bed, with a solid base, a not too thin mattress, sheets and two blankets . Since the window cannot be opened, we have air conditioning. " This is how Cardinal George Pell describes in his diary the imprisonment, over 400 days, in Barwon prison in Australia. There he was serving the sentence imposed by the sentence handed down in December 2018 that found him guilty of sexual harassment of altar boys in Melbourne Cathedral 20 years ago. The High Cardinal had always pleaded innocent. Then the verdict of the Australian High Court which decided his acquittal last April.

The manuscript will be published in the United States in the spring of 2021. Exclusively for Italy, the apologetic monthly Il Timone (out on October 8) publishes some extracts, courtesy of the US publisher Ignatius Press, anticipated by the Agi . 

In the diary, Pell describes his cell, number 11 of Melbourne Assessment Prison unit 8, "where I was locked up with a Muslim terrorist (I think he's the one who sang his prayers tonight - Thursday 14 March 2019 - but I could be wrong) and Gargasaulas, the Bourke Street killer ".

Then he describes the details.

"As you enter, there are shelves on the left and a table for my teapot and television, and a space to eat. Along the narrow aisle on the right is a sink with hot and cold water, a toilet with a high seat and armrests (given my knees), and a sturdy shower compartment with nice hot water ". 

Then a few nods to the prison environment, with words of sympathy for the guards: "At least a couple of prisoners in about twelve cells often scream desperately at night, but usually not for long. It's interesting how you get used to this noise, how you become part of the context. I am in a solitary confinement cell, with permission to go out for some movement for up to an hour and for visits from lawyers, agents, friends, doctors. they are different in their understanding, but they are all correct, many of them friendly, some friendly and helpful. I can get letters and phone calls in gymnastics time. "   

And finally a little vent on the spaces, however narrow: "I required a little more space and more congenial (compared to the courtyard I currently use) to walk, a later return to isolation and a little company. Given my status the last two requests are not possible and a cell with its own small area for movement seems to be the only option ".

In the diary the spirit of the theologian often dominates the bitterness of confinement.

On his condition he writes: "There seems to be little doubt that my social conservatism and the defense of Judeo-Christian ethics have sharpened popular hostility, especially among militant secularists. I believe in God's Providence; I have never chosen this situation, I did not do my utmost to avoid it; but here I am, and I must do everything to do God's will ". 

Pell then makes this reflection by citing the second reading of the Breviary, an extract from Saint Hilary of Poitiers on 'Blessed are those who fear the Lord'.

"I remember a vehement condemnation of the 'fear of the Lord' by an elderly bishop, and indeed the majority of bishops voted to remove 'fear of God', or 'the Lord', from liturgical translations at one of the Australian bishops' meetings. . Hilary explained that the fear of the Lord had to be learned through prayer, the search for wisdom and intelligence, contrary to our natural fear of being struck by disease, dangers and natural disasters ".

"The fear of the Lord, however," he writes, "is not approved by the progressive wing, because God is loving, understanding and forgiving everyone. They do not always combine these feelings with the obvious premise that one must repent before God can forgive."

According to the cardinal, "no previous generation has been able to be distracted as continuously as the current one. It is unhealthy and unfavorable to a spiritual balance. Most of our new seminarians find it difficult to put away their mobile phones at the entrance to the seminary".

"One of the consolations of today, in the midst of the turbulence, is that many young priests are spiritually solid and theologically orthodox, contrary to how we were after the Council in the 1960s and 1970s, then we were often confused and nervous, with the smell of the revolution in the air ". 

"On a general level, I believe that the love of well-being, sometimes genuine materialism, and the sexual revolution have clouded the ability to see God," he writes again.

"Many people are uncomfortable and restless, as can be seen in marriages, alcohol, drugs, pornography addiction," Pell continues.

"The teachers in our schools are now at the forefront of trying to help and heal the suffering of children from the mistakes, the defeats of their parents, or step parents, or uncles."

I remember the work of a Brazilian graffiti artist: divorce agreements are written with the tears of their children. "

In the manuscript also some considerations on the situation of the Church today: "A religion that is too easy is a false religion", "part of the problems of the Church are self-inflicted". 

Cardinal George Pell, 78, former head of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, had been locked up in the Barwon maximum security prison, following the sentence handed down in December 2018 which found him guilty of sexual harassment of altar boys in Melbourne Cathedral 20 years ago, charges against which he has always pleaded innocent.

Sentenced to 6 years, he won the appeal in the Australian High Court which decided his acquittal last April.

According to the ruling, the trial jury should have had a reasonable doubt regarding the actual involvement of the prelate in the disputed facts.

His condemnation caused a great sensation as Pell was one of the men to whom Pope Francis had entrusted the task of a more limpid management of the financial resources of the Church, in December two years ago.