AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net
Lewis Blayse
The Victorian Parliamentary enquiry, as well as the NSW government enquiry into clerical child sexual abuse, have had a hard time getting answers from bishops, at least in public. The bishops have been able to be a bit “invisible” through the use of several devices.
In the past, churches have used the device of shifting paedophile clergy around as a way of hiding them (see below).
Cardinal Pell has long used the invisibility cloak proffered by sympathetic media outlets, such as CathNews. Here, he is usually cut out of the photograph of him escorting Ridsdale into court (see image above).
The Geelong bishops were able to avoid questions from the Victorian Parliamentary enquiry last month, by hiding behind the cloak of the former bishop. It was, apparently, all his fault, but he could not appear because of age and health excuses. Result: invisibility intact.
Pell, himself, used an even better cloak, as befits his rank. He could repair the flaw in the bishops’ cloaks (see below). He hid behind a dead predecessor, whom he blamed for everything. Result: invisibility inviolable.
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