‘The High Court decision did not repudiate the former choirboy, with both Cardinal Pell’s senior counsel, Bret Walker, SC, and Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Judd, QC, agreeing in their submissions to the court that he was a credible, believable witness.’
These are words from a (5 Oct) report by Adam Cooper of Melbourne’s Age newspaper whose delirious anti-Catholic bigotry tops all others.
There are two obvious points to make about Cooper’s claim.
The first is a question of logic. It does not follow that because Bret Walker, SC, and Kerri Judd, QC, agreed that the choirboy was a ‘credible, believable witness’ that the choirboy was not lying. Cooper evidently does not see it.
Nor does it follow from this mutual agreement that the ‘High Court did not repudiate the former choirboy.’ Both assertions or premises are unconnected. This is another example of the sloppy reasoning in a hostile media that runs through all the reporting on the Pell case. Indeed, tight logical reasoning is not a priority of most Age reporters who have their political prejudices to promote.
The reasonable judgment is that because the High Court Justices did roundly uphold Cardinal Pell’s appeal 7-nil, they did in fact repudiate the former choirboy. Indeed, we can take it that behind their hands they laughed the preposterous Crown case out of court, and the choirboy with it.
Second, Cooper’s pathetic attempt, like many others, to discredit, or even nullify, the High Court decision in the minds of the public, actually works against the conclusion he wants. The more he emphasizes the ‘credibility’ of the choirboy in the face of the overwhelming evidence against his uncorroborated accusation, and in the face of the many harsh expert commentaries about the case and Victoria’s legal system around the world, the more the picture of a cunning conniving liar appears.
The best liars are the most convincing liars. Con men succeed because of their talent at projecting a trustworthy appearance. The choirboy is an outstanding liar with a proficiency and daring one cannot help finding impressive.
The problem for the choirboy is that the more outrageous the lie, the more vulnerable the liar is, and the higher the stakes become. There is a good reason he is lying low behind the protection of the Andrews’ government, and the cohort of bigots at the ABC, the Guardian, the Nine newspapers, and a dozen other struggling leftist rags.
With the news of possible bribery by Cardinal Pell’s enemies in the Vatican, our accomplished liar must now have the feeling his preposterous creation is beginning to close in on him. Nothing is surer than that in time the curtain will be drawn away to reveal who and what he really is, and what his motivations were. If I was him, I would start thinking about ways to minimize the eventual damage.