Sydney reacts to polarising figure George Pell’s sudden death
A special mass has been held in Sydney to mourn the passing of Cardinal George Pell, as former prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard paid tribute to the polarising church figure.
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Sydney’s Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher has lead the reaction to the shock death of polarising figure Cardinal George Pell.
A small gathering mourned the passing of the Cardinal at a special mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Wednesday.
Archbishop Anthony Fisher said the Cardinal was without doubt Australia’s most prominent churchman of all time.
“It will be for historians to assess his impact on the life of the church in Australia and beyond but it was considerable and will be long lasting,” he told mourners.
“For me it was very consoling that I got to meet him many times last week when I was in Rome for Pope Benedict’s funeral.”
Mourners hugged each other as they departed.
Though St Mary’s was not his usual church, Joseph had come to pay his respects.
“It was a lovely mass,” he said.
“I was very sad but also happy for him. He lived a good life.”
Another mourner said she felt Cardinal Pell had gone to a better place.
“He was a good man in my opinion,” she said.
“Though the world did not always see it.”
Archbishop Fisher released a statement shortly after Cardinal Pell died from complications during hip surgery, saying the news was a “great shock”.
“It is with deep sadness that I can confirm His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, passed away in Rome in the early hours of this morning,” Archbishop Fisher said.
“This news comes as a great shock to all of us.
“Please pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Pell, for comfort and consolation for his family and for all of those who loved him and are grieving him at this time.”
An international news outlet that covers news on Vatican City and the Catholic Church reported Pell will be flown back to Australia and buried in St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.
Sources close to Pell reportedly told Cruxnow.com Pell’s body would return to Australia following an official Vatican funeral.
Pell was the archbishop of Sydney following five years in the role in Melbourne.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott on Wednesday described the historic sex abuse charges against Cardinal George Pell, which were ultimately dismissed by the High Court in a 7-0 ruling, as a “form of modern crucifixion”.
“Australia has lost a great son and the Church has lost a great leader with the passing of George Pell,” Mr Abbott posted on Facebook Wednesday.
Mr Abbott also said the cardinal was “ a committed defender of Catholic orthodoxy and a staunch advocate for the virtues of Western Civilisation”.
“As an ecclesiastical and cultural conservative, he attracted praise and blame from all the expected quarters,” Mr Abbott wrote.
“In fact, he was a very pastoral priest who well understood the human stain and was more than capable of empathising with sinners while still counselling against sin.
“His incarceration on charges that the High Court ultimately scathingly dismissed was a modern form of crucifixion; reputationally at least a kind of living death.
“His prison journals should become a classic: a fine man wrestling with a cruel fate and trying to make sense of the unfairness of suffering.”
Mr Abbott also said that “by dealing so equably with a monstrous allegation, he strikes me as a saint for our times”.
Former prime minister John Howard has said that he “liked and respected” the late Cardinal Pell and revealed he and the Cardinal often saw each other at the New Year’s cricket test at the SCG where they would “(discuss) all manner of issues”.
Mr Howard also said that Cardinal Pell’s passing “has taken from us a person of enormous influence, not only in the Catholic Church, but in the nation more generally”.
“He was a strong and determined religious leader … Believers and non-believers alike were left in no doubt where George Pell stood on issues,” Mr Howard said.
The former prime minister also weighed in on the Cardinal’s legal battles saying, “His deep and compassionate faith sustained him during more than 400 days in prison for alleged crimes which many, me included, believed should never have been the subject of charges.
“Cardinal Pell’s trust in Australia’s justice system was vindicated when the High Court of Australia unanimously quashed his conviction.
“Until recent years he and his late sister were regulars during the traditional New Year Cricket Test in Sydney. We often spent time together at the cricket discussing all manner of issues.
“I liked and respected the late Cardinal a lot … his passing is a great loss to the intellectual and spiritual life of our country,” Mr Howard said.
Melbourne’s archbishop Peter Comensoli described Pell’s tenure as “very significant” to the church.
“Cardinal Pell was a very significant and influential Church leader, both in Australia and internationally, deeply committed to Christian discipleship,” Archbishop Comensoli said.
“Cardinal Pell led the local Church of Melbourne from 1996 to 2001 with strong leadership in the Catholic faith and with good governance, before being transferred to Sydney and then to Rome.”
In 2018 Pell was convicted of molesting two teenage choirboys in the sacristy at St Patrick’s Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.
The convictions were quashed in 2020 during a High Court appeal.
At the time of the convictions being overturned, Archbishop Fisher acknowledged the church had a lot of work to do to regain trust and support victims of sexual abuse.
“I recognise that the past failings of the Church to protect children have contributed to public anger directed at the Church and its leaders,” he said.
“I know that it is only by our sustained action seeking justice for all survivors of child sexual abuse and exhibiting best practice in safeguarding all vulnerable people that healing will occur and trust be restored.”
Former US ambassador and treasurer Joe Hockey was among the thousands of people tweeting about Pell’s death.
“I am immensely saddened to hear of the unexpected death of Cardinal George Pell. He was a man of deep faith and great integrity. He was blessed with fortitude, courage, determination and intellect. He was proudly Australian,” Mr Hockey tweeted.
Anti-abortion activist Lila Rose tweeted: “Prayers for the repose of Cardinal George Pell, who died in Rome tonight.
“He was a brilliant, faithful and humble man who suffered greatly under false accusations but after clearing his name, continued faithfully serving Christ and the Church,” she wrote.
Asylum Seeker Centre CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis posted: “Today I’m thinking of every survivor of sexual abuse. You are seen, loved and believed.”
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Originally published as Sydney reacts to polarising figure George Pell’s sudden death
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