I have complex feelings about the Pell thing. They're not popular. Here's a bit of a thread.

In all things except criminal law, I think we need to believe victims & accusers of abuse. We must protect the vulnerable with all our civil might.
We cannot be said to care
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2/ for others, in a way worthy of praise or emulation, without always making a preferential option for the poor.
That is, all else being equal, all of our personal and civil actions ought to preference the one with the least or most vulnerable.
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This preference is not only in terms social and interpersonal support: it can and should extend to granting of VROs and other similar legal protections.
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However, the purpose of our criminal legal system *must always* be to see that a criminal offender is justly punished.
Hilaire Belloc writes somewhere about the necessity that this is the goal of our system. If I can find it, I'll post it later.
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In order to ensure justice, however, we must assume innocence. (The same essay of Belloc shows why this is the case.)
Indeed, a large leap forward in the respect of the dignity of human persons was made when this assumption became core to our criminal justice system.
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Presumption of innocence must, as we can all understand, entail that guilt be shown beyond all reasonable doubt of someone acting rationally.
If the average person, acting rationally, can hold reasonable doubt about the actuality or criminality of the accused actions, they
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- that is, the accused - must not be convicted. To convict in such a case is to presume guilt.

My feels are real strong about this next part, so Imma leave it for a bit. I intend to come back and finish this thread.
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