Corona Daily 270: Shhhh…. The Cathedral Trial is on

During the pandemic, social media is hyperactive. When locked down, this is your only socialization. Recently, a new phenomenon has startled users. Their tweets may get deleted, or hidden behind a warning. (Not only Trump’s). A former ambassador’s account was blocked for retweeting a math theory proving the USA election fraud. Same with Facebook. Coronavirus denial for FB is equivalent to the holocaust denial. How much can be censored and by whom? This week an interesting trial, Cathedral Trial-II, is happening in Australia.

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Coincidently, yesterday itself, the Vatican published a voluminous report on a sexually abusing Cardinal. Theodore McCarrick is now 90 years old and defrocked as a result of his passion in younger years. His episodes with altar boys, seminarians, other priests were well known. Pope John Paul II had asked him if any of the rumours were true. He denied them. The large-hearted Pope believed him. Pope Benedict XVI went on record saying ‘male celibate priesthood was morally superior to other sections of society’. McCarrick had compromised that celibacy more with adults, less with minors. That perhaps justified his transgressions.

Pope Francis is different. In July 2014, he said about 2% of the Catholic clergy, including cardinals and bishops were pedophiles. (Like covid cases, this could be an under-reported statistic.) Pope Francis not only defrocked McCarrick, but instituted an enquiry, which published its findings in the 449-page report yesterday. If you are a diehard Catholic, please don’t read it.

Pope Francis is to the Vatican what Mikhail Gorbachev was to the USSR. While Twitter and FB are blocking, Pope Francis is willing to wash Vatican’s dirty linen on the internet. (He just needs to take care the Vatican doesn’t go the way Soviet Union did).

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The Cathedral Trial in Australia is different but related to this story. An Australian cardinal George Pell, now 79, was the third most powerful man in the Vatican. He was the Vatican treasurer.  Last year, he was found guilty of rape and sexual assault of two 13-year old choirboys in the mid-1990s. He was sentenced to six years in a Melbourne prison.

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Australian judges have the power to suppress reporting court trials. The court used this right during George Pell’s jury trial. Australian media was prohibited from reporting it, because Pell was to face another case. The learned judge didn’t wish to prejudice the jury’s mind in the next case. As a result, when this highest-ranking cardinal was sentenced to six years, there was no media coverage.

However, the gagged Australian media tried to improvise.

Melbourne’s tabloid, the Herald Sun, had a black front page with CENSORED written large. “The world is reading a very important story that is relevant to Victorians”. That was all the editorial said.

“A high-profile Australian known across the world has been convicted of a serious crime but the details can’t be published in this country.” Said another report.

“Can’t tell you who it is.” The Sydney radio commentator said,” I encourage you to Google high-profile Australian/ worldwide reputation/ conviction of an awful crime, and you’ll find out who he is.”

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21 publications, 6 corporate groups, and 19 individual journalists are charged with breaching the suppression order, a serious crime. If convicted, they face imprisonment up to five years and fines of up to AU$ 500,000.

The Washington post and other foreign newspapers could not be charged. The Australian population that gleefully spread the news on social media couldn’t be charged.

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This was a jury trial. Australia’s highest court reconsidered the case, and during the pandemic, acquitted Pell. After spending 400 days in prison, he was free. Though he hasn’t got his position back, he is on good terms with the Pope.

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Cardinal Pell is back in Vatican. And the journalists who tried to find clever ways of bypassing suppression may go to the prison that Pell left.

Ravi