Ex-jailbird Praises ‘barbarian’ Trump As A ‘champion’ Of Christianity

FAR-RIGHT news outlet, The Daily Caller – which adoringly supported Trump throughout his train-wreck of a presidency – smugly reported on Wednesday that Cardinal George Pell, above, had heaped praise on the POTUS for his ‘positive contribution’ to Christianity in America.

Pell, who spent 404 days in prison for sexual abuse before winning an appeal against his six year sentence, was quoted by TDC as saying:

I think [Trump’s] made some splendid appointments to the Supreme Court. He was a little bit unusual because he kept many of his promises. He brought some of the troops home, he didn’t enter into any wars, the economy kept rolling along.

TDC‘s Thomas Catenacci reported that Pell also commended Trump for attending the March for Life in January.

What TDC didn’t report was that Pell described Trump as a “barbarian, but in some important ways he’s our barbarian.”

Numerous mainstream outlets – including The Guardian – seized on the “barbarian” quote, and provided a more detailed account of Pell’s on-line press conference, held to promote his book, Prison Journal: Volume 1 – yours at a discount for just $16.96.

The Guardian reported that while Pell praised Donald Trump’s “splendid” Supreme Court appointments, he questioned his effort to sow doubt in the integrity of the US presidential election.

It’s no small thing to weaken trust in great public institutions.

Pell said Christians had an obligation to bring their values to the public sphere and said Trump had made a “positive contribution” – particularly with his three Supreme Court picks, two of whom are Catholic.

He added:

In other areas, I’m not sure that he’s been sufficiently respectful of the political process and it’s important that people believe they’re getting a fair go.

Pell left his job as prefect of the Vatican’s economy ministry in 2017 to face charges that he sexually molested two 13-year-old choir boys in the sacristy of the Melbourne cathedral in 1996. After a first jury deadlocked, a second unanimously convicted him and he was sentenced to six years in prison.

The conviction was upheld on appeal only to be thrown out by Australia’s high court, which in April unanimously found there was reasonable doubt in the testimony of his lone accuser.

Pell again suggested there was evidence – but not proof – that his prosecution was related to his work trying to reform the Vatican’s murky finances. Pell ran into stiff resistance from the Vatican’s Italian old guard during the three years he tried to impose international financial transparency, budgeting and accounting standards on the Holy See bureaucracy.

He repeated unsubstantiated and unsourced Italian media reports suggesting that money was sent from the Vatican to Australia to influence his prosecution.

I myself am quite confident that money did go from Rome to Australia about that time, but I’ve got no proof about where that finished up.

Pell said he had no intention of seeking damages from the Australian government for his incarceration and said he intended to split his time between Sydney and the Vatican, where he said he has met with many of his old collaborators and friends since returning this fall, including emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.

Pell said he believed Benedict should be made a “Doctor of the Church” one day to recognise his contributions to Catholic teaching. (Ratzinger would first have to fall off his perch and be made a saint before a doctorate can be bestowed on him.)

He also said the Vatican must quickly adopt regulations governing resignations of future popes. It was a reference to the unprecedented situation of having two popes living in the Vatican, with Benedict “still a point of reference for traditionalists nostalgic for his doctrinaire papacy.”

Surprisingly he also alluded to the RCC biggest problem: it’s abject failure to get to grips with its abuse within its ranks.

According to Religion News Service, Pell said that in order for people to better appreciate the church and its teachings, it will have to combat sexual abuse, which he called “a solemn obligation.”