I am Melissa Davey, Melbourne Bureau Chief of Guardian Australia and one of a few journalists worldwide who sat through the entirety of the trial of Cardinal George Pell, including the committal hearing, mistrial and retrial. I also covered his evidence before Australia's child sexual abuse royal commission in 2016 live for four days straight. I have been covering issues like child sexual abuse, family violence and royal commissions for several years now, and the podcast I made on the child abuse royal commission with my colleagues Miles Martignoni and David Marr, 'The Reckoning', won two New York Festival awards. We've have now made 'The Reckoning Part 2' about the Pell case. We'll make the final episode after the appeal.

​Since the suppression order lifted on the Pell trials and my stories were published, I have been overwhelmed by the level of interest in the case, especially questions around the court process and the facts. I think it's important for journalists to make this court process as transparent and comprehensible as possible, so here I am to answer any of your questions. There is a huge appetite for dispassionate, clear reporting on this somewhat complicated story, and I've found the engagement from readers so interesting. As many of you will be aware there has been a significant backlash to the conviction led by Catholic news websites worldwide and some of the conservative press here in Australia. Let's talk about that too.

The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of venerable but still rather primitive legends.

No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can (for me) change anything about this.

Specifically, during the first 100 days, Congress must pass a legislative agenda that includes:

Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour and indexing it to median wage growth thereafter.

A path toward Medicare-for-all. The Medicare-for-all bill widely supported in the Senate has a four-year phase-in period on the way to guaranteeing health care for every man, woman and child. Over the first year, it would lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 55, cover dental, hearing and vision care for seniors, provide health care to every young person in the United States and lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Bold action to combat climate change.

Fixing our broken criminal-justice system.

Comprehensive immigration reform

Progressive tax reform

A $1 trillion infrastructure plan

Lowering the price of prescription drugs.

Making public colleges and universities tuition-free and substantially reducing student debt.

Expanding Social Security.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/democrats-need-a-bold-agenda-heres-what-they-should-do-in-the-first-100-days-of-congress/2018/11/21/dc80ddd6-ed07-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html