When I first started my dig into the Ndrangheta crime cartel, I found out that in 2014, Cardinal George Pell, number two in the Vatican chain of command, had been ordered BY THE POPE to start looking into the Vatican's finances due to rumor of corruption and impropriety. The extent of what Pell uncovered has never been fully made public but what he did announce was discovery of a massive money laundering operation inside the Vatican, most of the proceeds being held in Australian banks. Some say Cardinal Pell located as much as $2 billion euros in a single money laundering account in Australia, belonging to the Vatican...but get this...it was under the control of the Ndrangheta.
The Ndrangheta cartel was the connection. They were laundering their criminal proceeds through the Vatican. Two years after Cardinal Pell disclosed his discovery, he was blackballed by the Catholic Church and his audit of Vatican finances was abruptly ended by then Vatican Secretary of State, without informing Pell of the move.
"In April 2016, without consulting Pell, the Vatican Secretary of State suspends an external audit of Vatican finances. The National Catholic Register quotes an unnamed source as saying that officials are afraid of what the audit will find, and want to get rid of Pell. A year later, Pell was charged in Melbourne with sexual abuse. And that was the end of the Pell threat to the Vatican Bank insiders."
(From Convictions and doubts: The case of Cardinal Pell).
The Doubts
Several factors cast doubt on the accuracy and/or veracity of the complainant’s account. These include inconsistencies in the complainant’s timeline, the manner in which the events allegedly unfolded, and the fact that no one witnessed any aspect of the complainant’s version of events, while several credible witnesses gave evidence in support of the defendant’s.
The Timeline
The complainant initially asserted that the two incidents occurred within a few months of each other in 1996. It transpired that the first time Pell said mass at St Patrick’s was 15 December, rendering this timeline impossible. The prosecution then changed its story, stating that the first incident occurred in 1996 and the second in February 1997.
The prosecution’s timeline also relied on the fact that Pell rushed from the procession to the sacristy where the first incident occurred. But by convention the Archbishop would greet parishioners at the front steps after Sunday Solemn Mass, and three witnesses gave evidence they saw Pell doing so on the relevant dates. It is not hard to believe they would remember this. These were the first occasions Pell said Mass in front of his new parish, members of which would have been eager to greet the new Archbishop.
It is also a rule of the Catholic Church that bishops are not left alone while robed. The Master of Ceremonies, Portelli, was responsible for accompanying Pell, and gave evidence that he was never separated from the Archbishop while robed on the relevant occasions and would have remembered if he was.
Finally, the prosecution eventually conceded that special rehearsals involving the entire choir occurred after mass on both of the only dates in December on which the offending could have occurred. The complainant’s evidence was that after he was assaulted he went back to the choir room, got changed and was picked up ten minutes later than usual and never accounted for why.
After reading 40-Head's 5th thread, I remembered a Quillette.com article written by RJ Smith, about George Pell, titled: Convictions and doubts: The case of Cardinal Pell. (Note: A free E-mail Opt in account is required to read articles on Quillette.)
(From 40_Head Threadreader).
5/7
When I first started my dig into the Ndrangheta crime cartel, I found out that in 2014, Cardinal George Pell, number two in the Vatican chain of command, had been ordered BY THE POPE to start looking into the Vatican's finances due to rumor of corruption and impropriety. The extent of what Pell uncovered has never been fully made public but what he did announce was discovery of a massive money laundering operation inside the Vatican, most of the proceeds being held in Australian banks. Some say Cardinal Pell located as much as $2 billion euros in a single money laundering account in Australia, belonging to the Vatican...but get this...it was under the control of the Ndrangheta.
The Ndrangheta cartel was the connection. They were laundering their criminal proceeds through the Vatican. Two years after Cardinal Pell disclosed his discovery, he was blackballed by the Catholic Church and his audit of Vatican finances was abruptly ended by then Vatican Secretary of State, without informing Pell of the move.
"In April 2016, without consulting Pell, the Vatican Secretary of State suspends an external audit of Vatican finances. The National Catholic Register quotes an unnamed source as saying that officials are afraid of what the audit will find, and want to get rid of Pell. A year later, Pell was charged in Melbourne with sexual abuse. And that was the end of the Pell threat to the Vatican Bank insiders."
(From Convictions and doubts: The case of Cardinal Pell).
The Doubts
Several factors cast doubt on the accuracy and/or veracity of the complainant’s account. These include inconsistencies in the complainant’s timeline, the manner in which the events allegedly unfolded, and the fact that no one witnessed any aspect of the complainant’s version of events, while several credible witnesses gave evidence in support of the defendant’s.
The Timeline
The complainant initially asserted that the two incidents occurred within a few months of each other in 1996. It transpired that the first time Pell said mass at St Patrick’s was 15 December, rendering this timeline impossible. The prosecution then changed its story, stating that the first incident occurred in 1996 and the second in February 1997.
The prosecution’s timeline also relied on the fact that Pell rushed from the procession to the sacristy where the first incident occurred. But by convention the Archbishop would greet parishioners at the front steps after Sunday Solemn Mass, and three witnesses gave evidence they saw Pell doing so on the relevant dates. It is not hard to believe they would remember this. These were the first occasions Pell said Mass in front of his new parish, members of which would have been eager to greet the new Archbishop.
It is also a rule of the Catholic Church that bishops are not left alone while robed. The Master of Ceremonies, Portelli, was responsible for accompanying Pell, and gave evidence that he was never separated from the Archbishop while robed on the relevant occasions and would have remembered if he was.
Finally, the prosecution eventually conceded that special rehearsals involving the entire choir occurred after mass on both of the only dates in December on which the offending could have occurred. The complainant’s evidence was that after he was assaulted he went back to the choir room, got changed and was picked up ten minutes later than usual and never accounted for why.