Read more
Some people will have wanted me to give my opinion in this book about Pell‿s guilt or innocence, and on whether the courts got it right or wrong. But that‿s not what this book is about ‿ I want to share what I have learned, including the facts as they unfolded. I want readers to have as much evidence as is possible before them as they consider the Pell trials. And I want any response to his conviction and appeals to be, at the very least, informed by the evidence. Guardian Australia‿s Melbourne bureau chief, Melissa Davey covered Cardinal George Pell‿s evidence at the royal commission into child sexual abuses, and attended each of his trials for his alleged historic sexual offences against children ‿ his committal hearing, mistrial, retrial, and appeals. What she saw, heard, and read made her determined to produce a dispassionate and thorough rendition of what occurred. The Case of George Pell is the result ‿ an authoritative account of those trials, of the basis for the verdicts, and of the backlash to the verdicts. It is inevitably not only about Cardinal Pell, but about justice in the age of conservative media, about culture wars, and about the broader context of clergy abuse. Despite a five-year-long sexual-abuse inquiry, the trials of one of the most senior Catholics in the world, and saturation coverage of the issue, it became evident to Ms Davey that many myths about the nature of child sexual abuse persist ‿ and that, for some people, the evidence of victims can never be allowed to tarnish the reputation of the church and its practitioners. The Case of George Pell is not just about one alleged offender, and one complainant. It is also about how the sexual abuse of children occurs ‿ and has been allowed to continue.
About the author
Melissa Davey is a Walkley award-winning journalist and has been The Guardian’s Melbourne bureau chief for several years. She has been nominated for three Walkley awards and two Quill awards, and has won two New York Festival awards for The Reckoning, a podcast series she collaborated on with David Marr and Miles Martignoni. She has also won awards from medical bodies for her work reporting on rheumatic heart disease in Aboriginal children, and for her investigation into the brutality of gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed. Her investigation into Gayed triggered a government inquiry.
Melissa frequently appears on BBC World News, and commercial radio in Australia and overseas. Previously she worked for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun Herald, and News Ltd.
Summary
Some people will have wanted me to give my opinion in this book about Pell’s guilt or innocence, and on whether the courts got it right or wrong. But that’s not what this book is about … I want to share what I have learned, including the facts as they unfolded. I want readers to have as much evidence as is possible before them as they consider the Pell trials. And I want any response to his conviction and appeals to be, at the very least, informed by the evidence.
Guardian Australia’s Melbourne bureau chief, Melissa Davey covered Cardinal George Pell’s evidence at the royal commission into child sexual abuses, and attended each of his trials for his alleged historic sexual offences against children — his committal hearing, mistrial, retrial, and appeals.
What she saw, heard, and read made her determined to produce a dispassionate and thorough rendition of what occurred. The Case of George Pell is the result — an authoritative account of those trials, of the basis for the verdicts, and of the backlash to the verdicts. It is inevitably not only about Cardinal Pell, but about justice in the age of conservative media, about culture wars, and about the broader context of clergy abuse.
Despite a five-year-long sexual-abuse inquiry, the trials of one of the most senior Catholics in the world, and saturation coverage of the issue, it became evident to Ms Davey that many myths about the nature of child sexual abuse persist — and that, for some people, the evidence of victims can never be allowed to tarnish the reputation of the church and its practitioners.
The Case of George Pell is not just about one alleged offender, and one complainant. It is also about how the sexual abuse of children occurs — and has been allowed to continue.
Additional text
‘She is methodical, diligent and direct – and studiously avoids giving her opinion on the court’s decisions or her beliefs about Pell’s guilt or innocence. As a consequence, her book is a thorough, detailed, and tremendously important document of one of the most high-profile court cases in recent memory, and a must for anyone who wants their own understanding of what happened, as Davey says, ‘to be, at the very least, informed by the evidence’.’
