Pell demands devotion

Cardinal George Pell has demanded that students going to Australia's Catholic schools, together with their parents, be more devout, and that the schools give preference to children of Catholics over other Christians, and those over believers of other religions.

As many as 20% of students attending Catholic schools in Australia are non-Catholic.

Pell said, "With as many one in five of the students non-Catholic, how can our schools live up to the grand old traditions of my alma mater without the instinctive, unconditional obedience of Catholic children to their priest, no matter what disgusting, perverted acts they ask the child to perform?"

Actually, I tell a fib -- he didn't say that at all. In fact, despite the grand old tradition of abuse committed by priests, there's no evidence what-so-ever that Pell considers that abuse a desirable consequence of the unquestioning devotion to the Church that he propounds. And in fact, as Catholic cardinals go, Pell has been relatively clean when it comes to covering up the child abuse (sexual and otherwise) of the Church, such as that of Father Gerald Ridsdale of St Patrick's College, where Pell himself studied. (Pell accompanied Ridsdale to trial, but did not give evidence on his behalf.)