National Catholic Register
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — During his flight from Krakow to Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis gave a press conference to the journalists assembled aboard the papal plane. He reflected on the World Youth Day gathering in the Polish city, and the recent attempted coup in Turkey.
He also addressed abuse accusations against Cardinal Pell, the crisis in Venezuela, Islam and violence, and Panama – which will host the next World Youth Day.
Below is the full text of the July 31 press conference, translated by Catholic News Agency: …
Father Lombardi: Now we give the word to Frances D’Emilio, who is a colleague from the Associated Press, the large English-language agency
Frances D’Emilio, AP: Good evening. My question is a question that many are asking in these days because it has come to light in Australia that the Australian police would be investigating new accusations against Cardinal Pell, and that this time the accusations involve the abuse of minors that are very different from the previous accusations. So, the question that I ask which many others ask is: according to you, what would be the right thing for Cardinal Pell to do, given his serious situation and in such an important position and the confidence that he enjoys from you?
Pope Francis: Thank you. The first information that arrived was confusing. It was news from 40 years back that not even the police made a case about at first. It was a confusing thing. Then, all the rest of the accusations were sent to justice. Right now, they are in the hands of justice. And one mustn’t judge before justice judges, eh. If I were to say a judgement in favor of or against Cardinal Pell, it wouldn’t be good because I [would] judge before. It’s true that there there is doubt and there’s that clear principal of the law: in dubio pro reo (Editor’s note: the phrase is a Latin expression meaning in favor of the alleged guilty party), no? But, we must wait for justice and not make a first judgement ourselves, a media trial, or … because this doesn’t help. The judgement of gossip and then, one can…we don’t know what the result will be but be attentive to what justice decides. Once justice speaks, I will speak. Thank you.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.