"My life in prison enabled me to realize suffering as a redemptive process that allows one to identify closely with Christ" said Australian Cardinal George Pell. Cardinal had been in prison for more than a year for abuse crimes. The cases turned put to be false allegations and was cleared by the high court. The Cardinal shared his experience with a gathering of Catholic medical professionals and their guests in Phoenix.
Reminding his audience of what Jesus told his followers, “Whoever does not accept his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple, it is through his suffering and death while a powerless victim that the Lord redeemed us.” All this only makes sense if we accept in faith that suffering can be redemptive - turned to a good purpose when united with Jesus' suffering and death. It is through his suffering and death while a powerless victim that the Lord redeemed us; released the grace so that our sins and the worst crimes could be forgiven."
On 7th April, 2020, the Australia's High Court, acting on the cardinal's appeal, found the trial jury had failed to give proper weight to witness testimony. The high court cited a reasonable doubt in the testimony of Pell's lone accuser, stating there was "a significant possibility an innocent person (was) convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof."
The cardinal read excerpts from Volume 1 of his "Prison Journal," published in December 2020. Volume 2 was released in May. Sometimes interjecting thoughts on his case, the cardinal's journal offered impressions of his daily readings from the Book of Job, the Old Testament account of a righteous, respected Jew's struggle with God to understand an avalanche of personal suffering. In the end, God tells Job face-to-face that while He allowed the suffering, it was not the result of Job's sins.
During one excerpt, Cardinal Pell read from Job, "If God weighs me on honest scales, being God, he cannot fail to see my innocence," before adding his reflection: "Which (was) exactly my prayer in this bizarre cathedral case. The Book of Job was written to contest the iron rule the Jewish people believed prevailed in history. Actions are rewarded and punished in this life. Job's friends believed it was his sins that explained his misfortunes. However, Job returned to prosperity, and God rebuked his friends."
The Cardinal also recalled a fellow priest who often brought up Job in conversation. "I always replied I hoped to be like Job, because his fortunes were restored in this life. Job’s message was, and is still, that we should still believe even when we cannot understand."
During Pell's Phoenix visit, he was hailed by local church leaders and laity. “For more than 13 months, he was a prisoner for a crime he did not commit. His witness to the religious freedom and rights of conscience - remaining steadfast to the truth - certainly is something we are all grateful for," Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix told.
"I was so impressed by his calm demeanor. He's been through an experience none of us can comprehend," added Dr. Thomas D. Shellenberger, president of the Catholic Physicians Guild of Phoenix. The guild is part of the national Catholic Medical Association, which fosters Catholic moral and ethical principles in medicine.
The former prefect of the Vatican's Secretariat of the Economy, Cardinal Pell left the position in 2017 to defend himself. The office oversees Vatican finances, and the cardinal was eyeing several reforms at the time. In a statement the day of his release, Pell said that he holds "no ill will" toward his accuser.