Inside Pope Francis and George Pell’s complicated relationship

Pope Francis and Cardinal George Pell may have had a fraught relationship, despite joining forces on financial issues which desired rational pragmatism.

Pope Francis was well-known for his progressive ideology and inclusive approach to catholicism, something that chafed his relationship with the late Cardinal George Pell.

Although both were united by their passion of supporting the church, and joined forces to address the Vatican’s struggling finances, their perceptions on the role of the Vatican greatly differed.

The late Australian cardinal was outspoken about needing to address the church’s drowning books, and so was appointed by the Pontiff as the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy in 2014.

“The Australian Ranger” was Pope Francis’ nickname for the cardinal, and he relied on cardinal Pell to have the toughness and determination to push through effective financial reform.

Their working relationship was a well-oiled machine, but when cardinal Pell died in 2023, it was uncovered just how much he disagreed with how Pope Francis acted in his position.

Cardinal Pell went to the lengths of writing an anonymous memo that desecrated Pope Francis’ rule as a “catastrophe” as “Christ is being moved from the centre” of the Catholic Church and the Vatican’s status globally had dropped to a “low ebb”.

Although Pope Francis and Cardinal George Pell worked together to reform the Vatican’s finances, the late cardinal did not agree with the ideology the Pontiff stood for as leader of the Catholic Church. (Photo by Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP)

Editor of Crux and close friend of cardinal Pell’s since he was the archbishop of Sydney, John Allen revealed that “during one of our recent exchanges, Pell speculated that Pope Francis was suffering from an undisclosed illness related to his colon surgery in 2021 and that we’d have a conclave before Christmas,” on the day after the cardinal’s death.

America’s Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave, Gerard O’Connell, said “it was no secret in Rome that the Australian cardinal and several other cardinals were meeting regularly and, some said, discussing the next conclave”.

Pope Francis and Cardinal George Pell at the Vatican had a complicated relationship. October 29, 2015. REUTERS/Osservatore Romano/Handout via Reuters

According to certified Vatican expert Mr O’Connell, the Australian cardinal and many others were discussing the next conclave years before Pope Francis’ death as they hoped to mould his successor to be more of a traditionalist.

“They shared a common unhappiness, even dislike, for the pontificate of Pope Francis and looked forward to the election of his successor, whom they hoped would be in the mould of John Paul II and Benedict XVI,” he wrote in America The Jesuit Review.

“While the Australian cardinal and the Argentine pope were substantially on the same page regarding financial reforms, the same was not true when it came to some other questions,” he wrote in an article.

Ironically, cardinal Pell died before Pope Francis.

It is unclear if Pope Francis was equally opposed to the late cardinal’s ideologies on Catholicism and the function of the Vatican, as he was not outspoken about any disagreement. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

However, it is unclear if Pope Francis was equally opposed to the ideology and politics of cardinal Pell, as he only had good things to say following his death.

“Consistent and committed witness, his dedication to the gospel and to the church, and particularly his diligent co-operation with the Holy See in its recent economic reform, for which he laid the foundations with determination and wisdom,” is how Pope Francis described the late cardinal.

Cardinal Pell had his own critics including his deputy at the economy ministry Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who also faced embezzlement claims.

The two often disagreed on how to complete the Vatican’s financial reset before cardinal Pell returned to Australia in 2017 to fight child sexual abuse charges, of which he was acquitted.

In reflection of his acquittal, Pope Francis expressed support for those wrongfully committed.

“I would like to pray today for all those people who suffer unjust sentences resulting from intransigence [against them],” he said at the beginning of mass at Santa Marta in the Vatican following the acquittal.

Originally published as Inside Pope Francis and George Pell’s complicated relationship