I think you need to keep to the sentiment expressed in the first part of this para, rather than the second, Alex.
Nobody, I repeat nobody, outside the jury and the legal officers directly involved in the case comes close to knowing the 'facts of the matter'. That is a fact.
To 'surmise' anything beyond what due process has found runs the risk of unjustly demeaning the legal process -- a process in which the Cardinal, arguably, had the best representation money could buy (as is his perfect right in our system) -- and, most importantly, the victim in this case.
The legal system is, of course, imperfect but it has many more checks and balances than the court of public opinion.
There may be 'the thought' that cases like this 'render' courts 'redundant' but it's the best we've got.
The conspiracy theories and righteous indignation surrounding this case are as vociferous and unreasonable for those who think Pell is guilty as they are for those who think he is an innocent victim. They just don't help.
And while those who respect and love the Cardinal are, understandably, upset about his fate, let us never forget it pales into insignificance compared to the life sentence many victims have to endure.
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