Prison Journal: The High Court Frees an Innocent Man

by George Pell

Innocent! That final verdict came after George Cardinal Pell endured a gruelling four years of accusations, investigations, trials, public humiliations, and more than a year of imprisonment after being convicted by an Australian court of a crime he did not commit.

Led off to jail in handcuffs, following his sentencing on March 13, 2019, the 78-year-old Australian prelate began what was meant to be six years in jail for "historical sexual assault offenses". Cardinal Pell endured more than thirteen months in solitary confinement, before the Australian High Court voted 7-0 to overturn his original convictions. His victory over injustice was not just personal, but one for the entire Catholic Church.

Bearing no ill will toward his accusers, judges, prison workers, journalists, and those harbouring and expressing hatred for him, the cardinal used his time in prison as a kind of "extended retreat". He eloquently filled notebook pages with his spiritual insights, prison experiences, and personal reflections on current events both inside and outside the Church, as well as moving prayers.

In this third and final volume, Cardinal Pell''s conviction is overturned by Australia''s High Court, and he is released from prison. As his appeal draws near, he grows in confidence that his case is strong and that his vindication is important not only for his own sake and the Church''s sake, but also for the sake of Australia''s legal system. While continuing his daily readings and devotions, and receiving hundreds of letters with offers of prayers and sacrifices on his behalf, the cardinal ponders the meaning of suffering in the life of the Christian, and he determines to accept with equanimity whatever outcome lies ahead.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Biography

423 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 2, 2021

About the author

George Pell was an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the inaugural Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, from 2014 to 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 and 2018.

He previously served as the eighth Archbishop of Sydney (2001-2014), Auxiliary Bishop (1987–1996) and Archbishop (1996–2001) of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. He was created a cardinal in 2003.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The long awaited third volume. Volume 1 The Cardinal Makes His Appeal was an incredible read. Volume 2 The State Court Rejects the Appeal was deeply moving. I stated of Volume 1 that: “Not since reading the works of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen van Thuan and Alfred Delp have I been so moved.” This book is in some ways an easier read than the first two volumes. The chapters in this volume are:

Chronology
Week 41: Advent Begins
Week 42: Breaking News at the Vatican
Week 43: A Blessing beyond Anticipation
Week 44: Christmas in Prison
Week 45: Appeal Moves Forward
Week 46: A New Jail
Week 47: Solitary No Longer
Week 48: Our Unusual Situation
Week 49: Australian Sympathies
Week 50: Currents for Good and Ill
Week 51: Optimism but No Certainty
Week 52: A Devastating Argument
Week 53: Lent Again
Week 54: The Path of Forgiveness
Week 55: A Final Appeal
Week 56: Awaiting the Decision
Week 57: Silence So Far
Week 58: Old Accusations Resurface
Week 59: Convictions Quashed
Afterword

This story has intrigue, galore. And unfortunately leaves many questions unanswered. But in the end Cardinal Pell was vindicated by a unanimous 7-0 decision to overturn all previous charges. Once cannot help but wonder about money that changes hands, and the lack of integrity shown in this case by the police, prosecutors and even the Victoria Supreme Court that original upheld the decisions against Pell in a split decisions. In part reading this story was like watching an episode of CSI or Law and Order, except this time it is Pell and his team working through the evidence to prove his innocence, and the overwhelming improbability and even impossibility of his have committed the crimes he was convicted of.

This journal tracks what he was reading, what he was writing and even what he was watching. It was interesting to follow Pell’s assessments of evangelical preachers he watch Joseph Prince and Joel Osteen. I was impressed by Pell’s openness in sharing his struggles to forgive, and move forward in grace. In this volume it was very interesting to follow Pell’s observations on the spread of Covid-19 from his prison cell. His commentary as it spread around the nations, the impact it was having, and how being a man set aside, he was looking at it critically and also with clearer eyes than much of the commentary I have seen.

Pell is open and honest about many who supported him, and a few whose lack of support he felt deeply. He states:

“Deacon Nick Donnelly from Cumbria, UK, one of my foremost champions in social media, told me he is walking beside me in my sufferings, while I also received a kind message of support from Caroline Farey in Worcester. It was my privilege to support both of them in their brave attempts to set up the School of the Annunciation for catechesis at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.”

Deacon Nick speaks from his heart, and I have read several of his books and been blessed by them. It was also moving to read how upon his release he was set free into a place with tight Covid restrictions. He states:

“The Australian this weekend had an eight-page supplement on Covid-19, the coronavirus pandemic, full of excellent and informative articles. That gave me a wake-up call because I had been hoping the number of deaths and seriously ill would be kept low, that the lockdown, limited or severe, would last weeks, not months, that the economic decline might be 2 to 5 percent, not 25 percent as Goldman Sachs is now predicting for the US, and that unemployment might rise to 5 or 10 percent, not 20 percent plus, as is quite possible. The personal consequence is that if I am released after more than twelve months in solitary confinement, I face the prospect of another six months in comparative seclusion.”

And he further states:

“Originally, I had planned to stay in Melbourne for up to a week after my release to see my close friends and family and visit my oldest surviving cousin, Bob Burke, who is in Nazareth House. Press interest made this impossible, and I decided to leave immediately for home in Sydney with Chris Meney as my driver.”

And his foresight here was to be realized. In the afterward George Weigel states:

“Thanks to these journals, and thanks to the dignity and equanimity with which he has borne himself since his release from prison (not least in an hour-long interview with Australian broadcaster Andrew Bolt), George Cardinal Pell has become a spiritual hero to many. That this is to the consternation and fury of the cardinal’s many enemies is a source of considerable satisfaction to his friends. But not, I think, to George Pell himself. For as these journals have revealed, he is a much bigger man than his persecutors and his rabid critics. He holds no grudges. That they do is to their further shame.”

And I completely agree. Each of the three volumes can be read on their own. The writing and insights are powerful enough. But when taken as a whole it is deeply moving. These books have the power to become spiritual classics. And Pell’s insights, faith, devotion and his open honesty in the books is an inspiration. I do home he will release a fourth volume, of his thoughts and journals through the Covid lockdowns and adjusting to life back in society.

This volume and all three are excellent reads. I highly recommend them.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2022 Catholic Reading Plan!

[Jim McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent series of prison volumes written by an innocent man offered as a scapegoat by the current day "mob" for the onerous crimes committed by others in the Catholic clergy. Even knowing that justice was ultimately delivered, the journals describe the faith, love, and support this man of deep faith and service experienced—a joy to read.

[James]

Miss you George.

Thanks for the education in prayer, Church affairs, politics, culture and history.

[Literacki Zakątek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dziennik - świadectwo. Ważny głos w obronie Kościoła katolickiego. Dziennik, który przywrócił wielu do Chrystusa. Świadectwo życia wiarą, nadzieją i miłością.
Warto zadać sobie pytanie: Dlaczego 78-letni zasłużony, niewinny kardynał cierpiał zniewagi, odrzucenie i uwięzienie?
Kto i dlaczego stara się tak bardzo obrzydzić nam Kościół, a tym samym odsunąć od sakramentów, doprowadzić do odrzucenia wiary?
W tym przypadku "trucizna" stała się dla wielu "lekarstwem", gdy oburzeni tak bezceremonialnym, bezpodstawnym atakiem wrócili do Kościoła i praktyk religijnych, dając świadectwo prawdzie.

Dodam tylko, że sam papież Benedykt XVI z chęcią czytał "Dziennik więzienny" .
Twierdził też: "W kwestii (...) wykorzystywania nieletnich ze strony księży, mogę jedynie (...) z głęboką konsternacją przyznać (...) rację. Nigdy nie usiłowałem ukrywać tych rzeczy. Fakt, że moc zła do tego stopnia przenika wewnętrzny świat wiary, jest dla nas cierpieniem, które z jednej strony musimy znosić, a z drugiej strony - musimy czynić, co tylko możliwe, aby tego typu przypadki się nie powtarzały.
Nie jest też żadną pociechą świadomość, że - zgodnie z badaniami socjologów - odsetek księży winnych tych zbrodni nie jest wyższy niż odsetek wśród innych porównywalnych kategorii zawodowych. W każdym razie nie powinno się ostentacyjnie prezentować tego zboczenia, jakby chodziło o plugastwo charakterystyczne dla katolicyzmu.
O ile jednak nie wolno milczeć na temat zła w Kościele, o tyle nie wolno również przemilczać wielkiej, świetlistej fali dobra i czystości, którą wiara chrześcijańska rozlewała wokół siebie w ciągu wieków."
/Piergiorgio Odifreddi, W poszukiwaniu prawdy, Kraków 2023, s. 120/

[Andrew Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary read. Cardinal Pell was wrongly imprisoned for over a year following a politicised fishing expedition by the police, a first trial with a hung jury, a furious mob-campaign against him, a second trial where the evidence simply didn't stack up, but where the jury found against him, and an appeal that was later judged by the Supreme Court (by a 7-0 vote) to have been wrongly turned down, as the prosecution's case was clearly nonsensical. Not only that, but the crimes of which he was accused were particularly abhorrent.

Given all that, the calm and reflective journey of prayer, penance and learning to which he committed himself in prison, without rancour and with a measure of compassion for his accuser (though understandably rather less for the judiciary of Victoria!) is remarkable.

This is very different from Solzhenitsyn, Frankl, or Bukovsky; perhaps closer to Ciszek; but like all of those, it is a fascinating record of the experience of belief and hope triumphing in adversity and imprisonment: a humbling and edifying read.

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad I've read all three journals written by this innocent man. They give an insight into a man of integrity and deep faith who never held a grudge or became bitter when it was so obvious he was simply a scapegoat being hounded by a corrupt system(s). He never gave up, he prayed for his enemies, he was deeply touched by the support he received from all over the world and prayed for many who were praying for him. Despite all the evidence indicating he could never have done what he was accused of, he spent a very long time in prison, most of it in solitary confinement, yet he managed even in this to be thankful to the Lord for what he learned about himself, and others, while there. He never stopped believing in those who were working with him to prove his innocence. The journals are a joy to read, a privileged insight into a man who loved God and the Church, and whose deep faith touched the lives of many.

[Michael Seselja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent finish to the three volume set. As in the first two the Cardinal offers great commentary on social and church issues while always downplaying his own sufferings.

It’s tragic that he was robbed of over a year near the very end of his life, but as always it’s not hard to see the fruit God brings out of this. Even while in prison Pell spoke about how many letters he had received from people around the world who were inspired to either deepen in their faith or come back to it due to the clearly unjust persecution he faced.

Although George Pell wasn’t killed by the state like many early Christians, it is easy to apply something of the spirit of Tertullian’s famous quote to him; “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humble and very gracious George Cardinal Pell shares day-by-day recordings of his prison activities in solitary and his reflections on preparations for the ultimate appeal of his case, COVID, and situations around the world in 2020-2021. He used his 12+ months incarceration as a retreat for study, reflection, and prayer.
He was very human in his fear that his case would not be overturned. Yet overall did not record any vindictive wishes, but genuinely prayed for his false accusers and those who even allowed the case of false accusation to come to trial.

[Brace1737 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third and final volume of the Prison Journal. I have the volumes over a three year period. Cardinal Pell is a true witness to Christ's teaching about suffering. Read it as a devotional book,as a window into the court system of Australia, or for insight into the Catholic Church. The Prison Journal merits your consideration.