Cardinal George Pell’s acquittal by the High Court of Australia of all criminal charges raises questions which demand serious answers. What led the jury into error? What led the President of the Court of Appeal and the Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court to compound that error when reviewing the jury’s verdict? Is there an underlying fundamental flaw in our judicial system? If so, can it be addressed so that a similar injustice is less likely to occur in the future?

I believe there is, indeed, a critical factor which has progressively eroded in recent decades but which is absolutely...