Vatican City | The Australian cardinal who decried the papacy of Pope Francis as a “catastrophe” was given a funeral on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) and hailed by fellow churchmen at St. Peter’s Basilica, with the pontiff imparting a final blessing for the once high-ranking Vatican prelate.

Cardinal George Pell, 81, died on January 10, shortly after undergoing hip surgery in a Rome hospital. As the Vatican’s finance minister for three years, Cardinal Pell had been a key player in the early years of Pope Francis’ papacy, whose goals included reforming the Holy See’s finances, which had a long history of scandals and poor management.

AP