Thank God. George Cardinal Pell has been exonerated. Justice has been done at last.
A good priest, falsely accused and railroaded through a politically motivated police investigation and an unfair trial, can walk free during Holy Week.
An innocent man persecuted as the reviled scapegoat for all the sins of the Catholic Church is free of the most disgusting and implausible charges of child rape after Australia’s highest court Tuesday dismissed the convictions against the Vatican’s former chief financial officer.
This was Australia’s Dreyfus Affair, an egregious miscarriage of justice that has destroyed the reputation of the country’s justice system.
The case that Pell raped two choir boys after Sunday Mass in a crowded St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996 was absurd from the start.
Pell, 78, was convicted in 2018 and imprisoned over the most heinous of all crimes on the word of one anonymous complainant, whose testimony was unsupported by any other witnesses or any forensic evidence.
The media lynch mob and the entire local legal system stand condemned. The unanimous decision of the High Court is a conclusive repudiation of everyone involved in the false imprisonment of Cardinal Pell, every politician, every cop, every lawyer, every journalist, every coward who naively trusted the system and vilified as “pedophile protectors” those who maintained Pell’s innocence.
Mark Weinberg, the sole dissenting judge on the Victorian Court of Appeal, has been vindicated. His 204-page opinion last year formed the basis for Pell’s appeal to the High Court. As the High Court said in its judgment, the Court of Appeal did not leave open the reasonable possibility that the offense did not happen.
The jurors assessed the complainant’s evidence as reliable but they should have entertained the possibility of reasonable doubt.
In a statement after the High Court’s decision, Pell said he holds “no ill will to my accuser … The only basis for long term healing is truth. The only basis for justice is truth.”
During 404 days in prison, he was buoyed by his faith, his innocence, and the thousands of letters and prayers of the faithful.
He also said he was praying for everyone affected by the coronavirus.
The question has to be asked, was Cardinal Pell, at the age of 78, kept in jail in the middle of a pandemic for a minute longer than was necessary? It could have killed him.
Hospitals across the U.S. braced for a surge in new patients Tuesday after the coronavirus death toll there surpassed 10,000, while some Asian leaders called for extended lockdowns to fight the pandemic and European countries with falling infection rates began easing their restrictions.
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Johns Hopkins: confirmed cases of infection rise to more than 1.36 million; death toll nears 76,373,
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Boris Johnson remains in intensive care
Confirmed infections in the U.S. were more than double that of any other nation, at more than 368,000, according to data Monday from Johns Hopkins University. In the 24 hours ending 8 p.m. on Monday, 1,164 people died from the Covid-19 respiratory disease caused by the virus, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins University data—roughly even with the prior four days’ death counts.
Health officials have worked to increase hospital capacity—turning arenas into temporary wards and seeking to reopen shutdown hospitals. They have also sought to fill in gaps of much-needed medical equipment; California, Washington and Oregon have said they would loan ventilators to other states.
Even as other parts of America and the world redoubled efforts to keep people from leaving their homes, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled late Monday that voting in Wisconsin would proceed as scheduled on Tuesday. The court, in a 5-4 vote, overturned lower court orders extending by six days the deadline for mailing absentee ballots.
In the U.K., which is bracing for the outbreak to reach its crescendo, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained in intensive care Tuesday, struggling with severe symptoms of the virus. A government spokesman said Mr. Johnson, 55, was in a stable condition and breathing without the help of a ventilator but receiving oxygen. Mr. Johnson was in isolation for 10 days before being admitted to a London hospital Sunday night. He has delegated his duties to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
Globally, the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 rose to more than 1.36 million across 184 countries and regions on Tuesday, while deaths topped 76,373, according to Johns Hopkins.
Wuhan, the Chinese the city where the virus was first detected, prepared to lift its travel ban at midnight on Tuesday, marking the end of more than two months of a complete lockdown covering about 11 million people. China said it had its first day since Jan. 20 with no deaths from Covid-19.
Many nations were still laboring to control the spread of infection.
For many people around the world, coronavirus lockdowns and social-distancing measures mean financial hardship. As some are growing desperate, WSJ reporters explain how governments are addressing the risks of social unrest. Photo: Daniel Irungu/Shutterstock
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday issued an order for a monthlong state of emergency covering Tokyo, Osaka and five prefectures. People were asked to stay at home unless absolutely necessary and all public gatherings will be suspended for about a month. Mr. Abe said the move was necessary because infections were increasing rapidly and hospitals were facing a crisis.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday approved the extension of a community quarantine across the island of Luzon to April 30. In India, a top local official on Tuesday called for the national government to extend the country’s nationwide lockdown, which is currently due to end on April 15.
In Europe, some countries that credit strict containment measures with helping to curb the contagion began taking steps to reopen their societies after a month of lockdown.
Pedestrians watch a live broadcast of a news conference by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday.
Photo:
Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press
The Czech Republic began relaxing coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, citing a daily case count that has flattened over the past two weeks.
Shuttered shops are allowed to reopen, provided they set up handwashing stations and let in only a few customers at a time. Tennis and other noncontact sports will be permitted. Next week Czechs will be allowed to leave the country for business or medical travel or to see family members, ending a month-old border closure. Schools will reopen on May 15, provided the coronavirus case count remains manageable.
Face masks will remain mandatory for all Czechs going out in public. And the relaxed restrictions come with stepped-up testing and the use of mobile phone data to track people who may have been exposed to the virus.
In Denmark, which imposed one of Europe’s earliest and strictest lockdowns, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her government would allow a “cautious, gradual and controlled reopening” of society starting next week.
Danish kindergartens and primary schools will reopen for children in good health on April 15 and for older students on May 10. The government will speak to private employers about allowing some people to return to workplaces next week while staggering their working hours, the prime minister said. Bars, restaurants and leisure facilities will stay shut and stay-home orders for noncritical public servants will continue until May 10.
Ms. Frederiksen said the opening would proceed as long as people follow social-distancing guidelines, which remain in force, and guided by stepped-up testing and surveillance.
Austria will start easing its lockdown next Tuesday, accompanied by a government mandate to wear face masks in all shops and on public transport, Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz said. Shops smaller than 400 square meters (about 4,300 square feet) that had been ordered shut will be allowed to reopen next week, followed by other businesses on May 1.
Italy, Spain and France, Europe’s worst-hit countries, remain locked down. French health authorities said Monday that 605 patients had died of Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily total yet. Although the daily toll of confirmed new infections and deaths has been slowing this month in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he would ask parliament to extend the country’s lockdown to April 25.
Iran’s parliament convened on Tuesday for the first time in two months and voted down a bill to quarantine parts of the country, arguing that it would cause further harm to the economy. Some factories closed in the country’s lockdown reopened this week and President Hassan Rouhani said some other businesses will be allowed t do so starting this weekend.
Iran’s daily rate of infections and deaths have flattened over the past two weeks, but Mr. Rouhani’s critics have warned that reopening the country too soon risks a second wave of infections that would overwhelm the health system.
China has reported a leveling off of its infection numbers since late February but has mostly kept strict controls in place around Wuhan, including a ban on traveling outside the city.
Chinese state media reported that around 276 trains will leave Wuhan, heading for Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Fuzhou and Nanning on Wednesday. Based on the ticket sales for Tuesday, an estimated 55,000 passengers will be leaving the city, with about 40% of them heading toward the Pearl River Delta region in southern China.
China first sealed Wuhan off on Jan. 23, followed by most other cities and towns in Hubei province, cutting off all transportation to and from the area and restricting movements inside the city. Travel bans in Hubei province were relaxed on March 25, and last week, shopping malls in Wuhan were reopened.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday that more people have been seen on Wuhan’s streets and shops are beginning to reopen for business. But the state-owned newspaper People’s Daily warned that while Wuhan will end its controls on outbound traffic, people shouldn’t relax nor let their guards down.
“This day is not the final victory day. We need to remind ourselves that while the restrictions on Wuhan have been lifted, we can be pleased but we cannot relax,” it said.
confirmed cases in the U.S.
total deaths in the U.S.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering
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At the start of what is expected to be the deadliest week of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the White House tried to offer some hope that measures to contain the spread were working.
The virus killed 1,264 over 24 hours in the U.S. as of 2:05 am ET on Tuesday, according to NBC New's tracker. A total of 10,906 have been recorded killed by COVID-19.
Meanwhile in China, where the pandemic broke out, not a single new death was reported, and the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the new virus was first identified, prepared for lockdown measures to be lifted.
April 6, 202003:01
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, said on Monday he was "cautiously optimistic" that the worst projections could be avoided "if we keep our foot on the accelerator" — referring to social distancing policies in force throughout much of the country.
Fauci and other officials leading the U.S. response to the crisis emphasized the importance of stay-at-home measures during a briefing.
"I don't think anyone has ever mitigated the way I'm seeing people mitigate right now," he said.
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Nevertheless, President Donald Trump cautioned that over the next week-and-a-half there would be a "big surge" in cases and deaths.
The president added that his administration was tackling hot spots, including New York, which has been hardest-hit by the virus in the U.S.
"We are pressing into action the full power of American government and American enterprise in our military has been incredible," he said.
While the lockdown was being lifted in Wuhan, the pandemic's original epicenter, a spokesman for China's National Health Commission cautioned the country still faced the risk of new outbreaks caused by domestic and imported cases.
Health officials reported 32 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in mainland China on Monday, all of them imported, bringing the total to 81,740.
The former epicenter of the epidemic, Wuhan, reported only two new confirmed cases in the past 14 days.
People wearing face masks walk inside a barricaded residential compound in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday.Noel Celis / AFP - Getty Images
On Wednesday, its residents will be able to move in and out of the city for the first time since the city went into lockdown on Jan. 23 to stop the spread of the virus.
For more than two months, Wuhan has been under draconian containment measures with its public transportation completely shuttered and residents ordered to stay inside.
Ahead of the city’s reopening, Chinese state media trumpeted the success of the lockdown measures, praising the residents for their sacrifice, but also warning people against letting their guard down.
“Zero growth does not mean zero risk, and opening a city gate does not mean opening every family door,” Xinhua state news agency said Tuesday.
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The city has been showing signs of going back to normal since last week. With its subway and train service resuming last weekend, some businesses, supermarkets and shopping malls have also re-opened their doors.
Photos shared by state media in the past few days showed people venturing out into the streets, walking their dogs, buying food in the street markets and even relaxing on the banks of the Yangtze River — with many still wearing masks.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said in an interview with the BBC that the Prime Minister was "not on a ventilator" but had "received oxygen support."
He told BBC Radio 4's Today program that Johnson was "receiving the very best care" at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, after being taken into intensive care at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) on Monday.
"And of course, one of the reasons for being in intensive care is to make sure that whatever support the medical team consider to be appropriate can be provided," Gove said.
Gove later said he was self-isolating at home because a member of his family was showing coronavirus symptoms. Gove said on Twitter that he was not displaying any symptoms and was continuing to work. He's the latest in a long line of British government ministers and advisers to be forced into isolation.
Johnson's hospitalization has highlighted the lack of a formal line of succession in the UK government. Johnson, 55, nominated the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who also holds the title of First Secretary of State, to deputize for him "where necessary." But the is no official deputy recognized by UK law or the country's largely unwritten constitution.
Few formal powers are invested specifically in the UK prime minister and key decisions are taken collectively by the Cabinet or its sub-committees. Many statutory powers are held by individual secretaries of state. But in recent decades, holders of the UK's top political office have adopted a more presidential style, and the sweeping nature of the ruling Conservative Party's most recent election victory was attributed to Johnson's personal appeal with voters.
"The Prime Minister has a team around him who ensure the work of government goes on," Gove told the BBC. He said Johnson had a "stripped-back diary" last week to make sure he could follow the medical advice of his doctors.
Gove confirmed that Raab was now in charge of seeing through Johnson's plan to tackle the novel coronavirus. "Dominic [Raab] takes on the responsibilities of chairing the various meetings the PM would've chaired but we're all working together to implement the plan that the PM has set out," he said.
But Gove sidestepped a question about who held the "nuclear codes," saying he would not discuss national security issues.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the House of Commons defense select committee, tweeted good wishes to Johnson but added: "It is important to have 100% clarity as to where responsibility for UK national security decisions now lies. We must anticipate adversaries attempting to exploit any perceived weakness."
Johnson was taken to hospital on Sunday evening. At the time, Downing Street said the decision was a precaution because he continued to suffer from a cough and a fever ten days after testing positive for the coronavirus. But his condition deteriorated on Monday, Downing Street said, and he was moved to the intensive care unit at St. Thomas' Hospital.
Gove told Sky News on Tuesday morning that Cabinet ministers were not told about the Prime Minister's deteriorating condition until nearly an hour after Johnson was taken into intensive care.
Asked whether the government had been up front with the public about Johnson's condition, and whether the Cabinet had been taken by surprise, he replied: "Yes we were. The [daily coronavirus] briefing that was given at 5 o'clock was given at a time when we didn't know about the deterioration in the Prime Minister's condition."
"We were informed subsequently. The Prime Minister was admitted to intensive care at 7 o'clock, and that information wasn't given to us in government -- to those in the cabinet -- until just before 8 o'clock."
The coroavirus has hit the top of the British government hard. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said on March 27 that he had the virus, on the same day that chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, announced that he would begin self-isolation after displaying Covid-19 symptoms. Neil Ferguson, a top UK government adviser on the virus, said on March 18 he believed he had been infected. Various other senior government ministers and advisers have been forced to self-isolate.
