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.