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Speaker 1: For News yesterday that Cardinal Pell had been let off.

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Speaker 1: This is after the High Court had said that well,

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Speaker 1: this is this is it. It was very interesting day yesterday.

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Speaker 1: A lot of people are trying to get their head

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Speaker 1: around it. They're very confused. One man who is going

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Speaker 1: to help us out and give us a few more details,

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Speaker 1: Great mates, Chris Reason from seven Years chief reporter. Good morning, Reza,

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Speaker 1: how are you buddy?

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Speaker 2: Always good to speak to you guys. What a confusing

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Speaker 2: day it was yesterday and what a massive surprise.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, phillis in rees. How did this work and

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Speaker 3: how did it play out?

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Speaker 2: Well, as you know, it's been rattling on now for

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Speaker 2: five years or so, this case against George Pell, from

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Speaker 2: the investigation of that first appearance in the magistrate's court

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Speaker 2: and all the way up through the various levels of

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Speaker 2: Victorian legal system, and then his final appeal came before

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Speaker 2: the High Court last month and yesterday that decision came

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Speaker 2: down and it was unequivocal, all seven judges saying that

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Speaker 2: there'd been a miscarriage of justice, that the evidence has

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Speaker 2: proved just wasn't there to substantiate the charge against George Bell.

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Speaker 2: And they instantly overturned it, acquitted him, quashed the charges

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Speaker 2: and said directly he should be released from prison immediately.

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Speaker 2: And it was about two hours later that he was

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Speaker 2: driven out of call out of the bar One prison,

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Speaker 2: the maximum security prison. And it's one of the lowest,

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Speaker 2: dirtiest places in Victoria, told Tony Mockbell itself the Hoddle

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Speaker 2: Street killer. It's a dirty place. He's been in there

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Speaker 2: in isolation for the last few months and he yesterday

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Speaker 2: was driven freezo.

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Speaker 3: It's confronting and uncomfortable to talk about, but you know,

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Speaker 3: some of the evidence was regarding his outfit and the

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Speaker 3: cloaks that he would wear, and how it was impossible

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Speaker 3: for him to even go to the bathroom with that on,

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Speaker 3: let alone perform any sort of act. This sort of

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Speaker 3: stuff must have been extremely graphic for the family and

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Speaker 3: the victims to have this played out in court.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it was, and it was. It's been and something

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Speaker 2: particularly one of the the families of the two complaint

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Speaker 2: to guys that to Berden year old choir boys that

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Speaker 2: original at the center of the allegations. You know, this

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Speaker 2: has been heart wrenching. Things have to go through, the

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Speaker 2: ups and downs, the possibilities, the Maybes of William survived

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Speaker 2: Williams appeal win and yesterday, of course that's what he

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Speaker 2: calls a disgusting decision, that he was a slap in

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Speaker 2: the face in a bit an ordeal for them. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: there were It all came down to those details, guys

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Speaker 2: at the end of the day, and the High Court

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Speaker 2: judges in all their wisdom, poured down through the evidence

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Speaker 2: and said that even though that one surviving complainant, the

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Speaker 2: choir boy that should be in court and gave his

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Speaker 2: evidence via video link, even though he was compelling and believable,

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Speaker 2: but there just wasn't enough supporting evidence to make those

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Speaker 2: allegations stand. Now, George Pell's side pulled up twenty witnesses

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Speaker 2: that said it just couldn't have happened the way the

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Speaker 2: young fellow said it did because it was the back

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Speaker 2: of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, one of the biggest churches in

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Speaker 2: the country, on one of the busiest days a mass.

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Speaker 2: At the end of the mass, he goes to the

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Speaker 2: back a little room called the sacristry, and for five

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Speaker 2: or six minutes that the offenses happened. And they would

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Speaker 2: know pretty graphic offenses. Now, they just said that the

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Speaker 2: archbishop was never alone. He had those robes on. As

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Speaker 2: you say that it was, there was enough doubt to

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Speaker 2: say that there wasn't enough for a conviction, and that's

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Speaker 2: what happened yesterday, Reza.

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Speaker 1: It does question our legal system now because I mean

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Speaker 1: that we go to first trial, then we go to appeal,

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Speaker 1: and then the High Court comes in over the top

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Speaker 1: and just says that it's ridiculous that it even got

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Speaker 1: to this point. He's out straight away now for victims

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Speaker 1: out there, and I know that there's been I know

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Speaker 1: Julia Gillard put up a video yesterday saying I'm not

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Speaker 1: going to talk about the trial at all, but for

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Speaker 1: any victims out there, I just want to give you

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Speaker 1: hope that don't let this deter you in coming forward,

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Speaker 1: because I feel now that there's so many victims that

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Speaker 1: are involved with this church now and they look at

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Speaker 1: this trial and the amount of time that it's gone

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Speaker 1: on for and what's the point. Well, and you know,

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Speaker 1: it's just horrible to be put in the public spotlight

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Speaker 1: and now it's just completely thrown out the door, and

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Speaker 1: they think to themselves, there's no reason for me to

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Speaker 1: go forward.

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Speaker 2: This was a gut punch to thousands of people in

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Speaker 2: that situation, guys, and they're looking at it yesterday and

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Speaker 2: the course authority are saying them, don't give up hope.

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Speaker 2: And you've got to work out your own individual cases

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Speaker 2: and whether you know you should hold hope that you

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Speaker 2: can you can continue whatever prosecutions or situations you were

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Speaker 2: in that you have to put all that aside on

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Speaker 2: this case. And you have to. And this is what

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Speaker 2: the court did yesterday. They looked at it purely legally

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Speaker 2: and they said, this is what we've got. One bloke's word,

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Speaker 2: we've got twenty witnesses, we've got the situation back there

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Speaker 2: in nineteen ninety six at the back of Saint Patrick's

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Speaker 2: Could it really have happened? And could a miscarriage of

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Speaker 2: justice have been committed? And I reckon, you really didn't

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Speaker 2: bring up a good point. How did it get all

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Speaker 2: the way through the Victorian legal system to the sport

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Speaker 2: In Judge of the High Court to finally say, hey, guys,

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Speaker 2: there's no case here. What are you talking about? Shouldn't

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Speaker 2: have got from the police all DPP. It shouldn't have

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Speaker 2: got from the DPP, the magistrates. It shouldn't have got

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Speaker 2: from magistrates up to Victorian Supreme and you kind of go,

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Speaker 2: you know, it's an indictment perhaps on the Victorian justice system, and.

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Speaker 1: The ignorance starts at the top. Reso, because yesterday Pope

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Speaker 1: Francis tweeted and said, in these days of Lent, we've

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Speaker 1: been witnessing the persecution that Jesus underwent and how he

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Speaker 1: was judged ferociously even though he was innocent. Let us

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Speaker 1: pray together today for all those persons who suffered you

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Speaker 1: to an unjust sentence, because if someone had it in

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Speaker 1: for them, that's coming from the top. And this is

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Speaker 1: ignorance that we've seen for so long. There has to

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Speaker 1: be a day where we get justice for this stuff.

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Speaker 2: Razo. Look, I think the Pope's words absolutely outraged tens

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Speaker 2: of thousands of people last night, and it's sort of

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Speaker 2: from many critics, so that it just shows that the

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Speaker 2: Catholic Church is still toned death to what is happening

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Speaker 2: out there. And yeah, okay, George Pearl has been acquitted,

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Speaker 2: make a comment about that, but to broaden it out

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Speaker 2: and to sort of make those words very questionable words

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Speaker 2: from the Pope, and it just to even to use

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Speaker 2: the words unjust sentenced, because quote someone had it in

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Speaker 2: for them, didn't really sound like Pope Francis. He's had

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Speaker 2: a papal statement. I was surprised the lack of grace

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Speaker 2: and eloquence and compassion in that statement. You know, it

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Speaker 2: just it's just shows that the church still has a

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Speaker 2: long way to go. There are plenty of people in

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Speaker 2: the church that are doing good things and trying to

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Speaker 2: clean it up. But yesterday it was a bitter blow

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Speaker 2: to many campaigners, and it really was in a difficult

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Speaker 2: day for many ago.

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Speaker 1: I know it was exhausting. I don't think it's over yet.

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Speaker 1: They raise tho just quickly. They could still appeal again,

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Speaker 1: can they? Can they go again?

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Speaker 2: No, they can't. All the criminal charges now that's the

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Speaker 2: end of the line and the High Court is it.

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Speaker 2: But what happens now is the civil cases will begin

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Speaker 2: and there's a less far less standard of proof and

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Speaker 2: burden of proof in those sorts of cases. So George

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Speaker 2: Pearl's ordeal is a long way from over. He'll be

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Speaker 2: He's expected to be dragged. I think I read eight

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Speaker 2: separate cases potentially about to be launched. There's a couple

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Speaker 2: other things bluding around as well. He's yeah, he's not

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Speaker 2: through the woods yet.

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Speaker 1: Well, Donrez, Channel seven chief Reporter, I love you mate.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for coming on, buddy.

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Speaker 2: Always a pleasure. Guys with