Imagine this:
You are the boss of a big bank. One of the people who manages one of your branches comes and tells you that one of the people that works in your bank has been stealing money from a customer's account. There is no question this is what has happened, and it isn't even the first time a branch manager has told you about this employee doing this. There have been cases where other employees have SEEN him stealing money from accounts.
Other than these transgressions, this employee is wonderful. The board of your bank love him, because he has a knack of bringing big accounts your way, with a focus on real estate.
You don't want the good name of the bank tarnished, so you decide the best thing to do is to transfer this employee to another branch, preferably far away, so no one one will know of his reputation. That way you still keep his clients. The customer who made the complaint is happy, because all they see is that the employee doesn't work in their local branch anymore.
Time and time again, you hear reports of this employee stealing money out of accounts and you move him to different locations. This employee even ends up managing a few branches. They are still bringing in big business to your bank, so you promote them to head of the internal fraud squad.
Oh, shit. Sorry. Got that wrong. Let's start again, shall we?
Imagine this:
You are the head of the Catholic Church in Victoria...
Father Kevin O'Donnell used his position as a Catholic priest to abuse children for approximately 50 years. He served about a year in prison. He died the next year and was buried with full priestly honours in a special crypt in the Melbourne General Cemetery that is owned by the Catholic Church. He was never defrocked by the church.
He was moved from parish to parish by several Archbishops of Melbourne, one of these Archbishops was George Pell.
More of his story is told in the book, Hell on the Way to Heaven, which is available here. (Be warned, it is NOT an easy book to read.
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