Peter Dutton explains why he attended George Pell’s funeral

Peter Dutton has explained why he attended the funeral service of controversial cardinal George Pell.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has explained why he went to the funeral of divisive cardinal George Pell. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Peter Dutton says George Pell experienced injustice and people in Australia can’t be convicted on a “vibe” alone, as he explained his decision to attend the Cardinal’s funeral.

The Opposition Leader was among thousands of people to gather at St Mary’s Cathedral in central Sydney on Thursday to farewell the divisive former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet were both notably absent, as were NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns and Governor-General David Hurley.

Speaking to 2GB radio before the requiem mass, Mr Dutton said people in churches had committed “heinous crimes”, without naming Pell directly or singling out the Catholic faith.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton arrives for the Cardinal George Pell service at St Mary's Cathedral. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Mr Dutton suggested a funeral was a time to “celebrate someone’s whole life and the contribution they’ve made” and to reflect on the “mistakes of the past”.

“My decision to go to Cardinal Pell’s funeral this morning reflects the fact that he contributed a lot, particularly to Catholic education and to the church otherwise,” he added.

“I think it’s important for our country to recognise, obviously, our Indigenous culture … but we have a lot thank the churches for over a long period of time.”

Cardinal Pell, who died last month aged 81 from heart complications following hip surgery in Rome, was dogged by controversy in his later years.

He became the highest-ranking Catholic ever to be convicted of child sexual abuse offences in 2018 when he was convicted of five historical charges.

Cardinal Pell was imprisoned until the High Court unanimously overturned his convictions in 2020.

But his reputation had been badly tarnished by association with the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandals even before his own criminal trial.

Protesters clashed with Catholic faithful outside the cathedral. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Mr Dutton said on Thursday he thought Cardinal Pell had suffered a “great injustice” and had been unfairly associated with the crimes of the Catholic Church.

“We’re not convicting people in our country on the vibe or because we think that they’ve got a membership of an organisation that has committed bad deeds,” he said.

Mr Dutton was joined at Cardinal Pell’s funeral by former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott.

Mr Abbott delivered an emotional eulogy for the man he described as a friend, mentor and the Australian Catholic Church’s greatest champion, suggesting Cardinal Pell should be recognised as a saint.

The former Liberal leader said Cardinal Pell had been made “a scapegoat of the church itself”, to resounding applause from mourners in the cathedral.

“He should never have been convicted in the absence of a plausible case, as the High Court so resoundingly made plain,” Mr Abbott said.

He also made a joke about the protesters who clashed with Catholic faithful outside the funeral service.

“As I heard the chant, ‘Cardinal Pell should go to hell’, I thought, ‘Aha, at least now they believe in the afterlife’,” he said.

“Perhaps this is St George Pell’s first miracle.”