In preliminary observations to his sentence of Cardinal George Pell, Chief Judge Peter Kidd of the County Court outlined what was and wasn’t involved in his deliberations, given that he was required to sentence the Catholic cleric “within a unique context”.
Prior to sentencing Cardinal Pell to six years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months, he noted the contextual factors of the cardinal being “one of the most senior figures within the Catholic Church, a figure of “significant interest” who has faced “extraordinary and widespread publicity for a number of years”, with “strong, trenchant and sometimes emotional criticism” of him.
https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/25258-how-kidd-cj-separated-the-catholic-church-from-the-rule-of-law
https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/25258-how-kidd-cj-separated-the-catholic-church-from-the-rule-of-law