Cardinal Pell was

a divisive figure.  I never met him and I am not sure that I would have liked him had I met him. He did not appeal to me as a person.

I confess I don't have much time for the idea of Cardinals either. I have known some Archbishops and some Bishops and I suppose they are administrators of a sort. They have been varied characters. 

One Archbishop was a wonderful, gentleman and gentle man. His niece is a nun and I met him at more than one event she has invited me to attend. It was interesting to watch how the children present kept gathering around him and talking to him. A friend tells me that the same thing happens to the current Pope. It is the way it ought to be.

I have met a number of Roman Catholic Bishops too, along with numerous priests. They have varied in personality as much as the rest of the population.

On the Anglican side I have also had more than my fair share of meetings with an Archbishop and Bishops. One of them was a rather ridiculous figure who actually wore gaiters. Another was covered in mud. He was helping to clear a blocked drainage channel on a property and had all us children singing ridiculous verses to a campfire song as we helped. 

More seriously though I have worked with many such people. I don't know them well. Our contact is often brief. It has always been courteous. They have been demanding because there has been a job to be done but they usually have listened to what can and cannot be done and how best to do it. Without exception they have always wanted what was best for other people. 

All these people are acutely aware of the danger of being wrongly accused of serious wrongdoing. They also know that, once made, such an accusation is there for life even if it shown to be false. They know that even a unanimous decision of the High Court won't stop accusers continuing their campaigns. 

There was an email from one such man this morning. He's a good man. I like him even though our beliefs are very far apart. In it he told me, "The dead can't defend themselves. It is up to the rest of us to do that for them, to live that way."