In Australia this week the first and only representative of the Catholic Church to be convicted of failing to report child sexual abuse by one of his priests had that conviction overturned on appeal and walked away free from a term of home detention.
Philip Wilson was the former Archbishop of Adelaide. He is now an old man and an appeals court judge has determined that he appeared truthful in giving evidence and claiming no knowledge of the crime committed. Initially, he was sentenced to a twelve month jail stint in August but this was quickly reduced to a six month period of home detention.
One of the reasons for this prosecution was to make it abundantly clear that the days of paedophile priests being moved to a different parish and their crime covered up by the church - are over. Many of the victims have faithfully sat through this trial and it is disheartening to find that their clear evidence has been dismissed and once again the church has distanced itself from legal responsibility.
Our legal system seems reluctant to lock horns with church power but the Catholic Church is not the monolith it once was. Ordinary men and women are walking away in droves in western countries and the once trusted priests are being shunned. It is quite likely that this appeals court decision will hasten that exit flow.
On the other side of the world an arrest was made in the transit lounge of a Canadian airport. This was no ordinary matter because it heralds fresh hostilities between China and the United States of America. The person arrested was Meng Wanzhow and she is the chief financial officer of the giant Huawei corporation of China - and the daughter of its founder. The arrest was at the instigation of the United States and the charge she will face is violating international sanctions against Iran.
Huawei is deeply involved in the 5G network being run out across the world and is suspected of integrating spying devices in its technology. It has been banned from several western countries because the company has close integral links with the Chinese Communist party. In fact, suspicion of Huawei eavesdropping has caused some countries to remove its existing technology from the present 3G and 4G systems already in place.
It seems likely that America will apply to have Meng Wanzhow extradited to appear before a New York district court for a bail hearing. This will obviously enrage China and the arrest is unusual because Meng Wanzhow was simply passing through Canada on her way to another country and the landing was to allow her carrier to replenish fuel. Such passengers are not technically " in " that country when such transit exchanges occur.
A charge of violating international sanctions will also be controversial. Many countries disagree with the United States stance on Iran and given the trade war between America and China this act of plucking a transit passenger off an international flight is outside the scope of usual arrest warrants. A person with CFO credentials for such a giant corporation as Huawei is a very important person in the world of finance. It is unusual that she was not travelling with a diplomatic passport - which would have prevented that arrest.
It seems that Donald Trump may have simply ratchetted up the tempo of his trade war with China by this action. With the world showing signs of a possible coming recession such an irritation will be unhelpful. No doubt it will be reflected in world sharemarket prices when trading commences next week.
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