I, like many others, was outraged by the news that Cardinal Pell, the former Vatican treasurer, had been found guiilty in an Australian court of sexual offences against two boys in Melbourne in 1996.
The court arrived at its verdict in December last year, but, for legal reasons, this could not be reported until now.
Cardinal Pell, now 77, was convicted of one charge of sexually penetrating a child under 16, and four counts of committing an indecent act on a child under 16.
To commemorate this, I have written a short poem, so that we can all squirm and try to imagine the terror those two choir boys must have experienced once they were alone - probably in the dark - with the aforementioned Cardinal Pell.
Ode To Cardinal Pell
Cardinal Pell
Fucking hell
It's that filthy bastard
For whom tolls the bell
Cardinal Pell
Pray, kiss and tell
What did you get up to
Back there in your cell?
Cardinal Pell
Don't go into your shell
Come, tell us about when
You started to swell
Cardinal Pell
From favour you fell
Your choice, not their choice
When you made those lads yell
Cardinal Pell
You must have known well
The righteous would try
Your 'habit' to quell
Cardinal Pell
Do your fingers smell?
You dealt with the devil
Your foul'd soul to sell
I hope they 'treat' you well in jail, you filthmonger.
Woods 2019
