George Pell was no bully. He was a Christian gentleman

Others may pay tribute to his mark on the Australian church, but I prefer to recall George Pell as the gifted man I knew. Picture: Getty

I met Father George Pell when both of us went up to Oxford in late 1967. He had recently been ordained in Rome but his mentor, Bishop O’Collins of Ballarat, sent him on to Oxford for doctoral studies. I was “reading theology” in preparation for Anglican ministry. George loved all things English and was fascinated by Anglicanism, but when I told him I wanted to become a Catholic, he stood by me. He acted as my sponsor in June 1968, when I was reconciled to the church.

He continued research and I returned to Melbourne to enter Corpus Christi seminary. He became assistant priest at Swan Hill and went on to direct teacher training in Ballarat. He was rector of the seminary in Melbourne which he rejuvenated. He became an Auxiliary Bishop just before I went to work in the Vatican so I saw him regularly as he came through Rome. After visiting Cambodia he was deeply distressed by the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. We rejected Marxism and were friends of Bob Santamaria.

George Pell Melbourne in 1988.

One criticism needs to be cleared away. He passed on to me his enthusiasm for the Second Vatican Council, which he witnessed unfolding in Rome. To say he was “pre-Vatican II” is absurd. He valued traditions but was under no illusions about the church needing to “open her windows”, as Pope St John XXIII put it.

Unlike me, he was no stickler for intricate details of liturgics – “I never know where to put my hands”. Yet he carried himself with dignity in public. Among friends he shared a broad Australian sense of humour. But he disliked gossip, intrigue and careerism. He rejected flattery. When I told him that Pope Francis (in my only conversation with him) had repeatedly affirmed that Cardinal Pell is ”molto onesto” (very honest), he just shrugged and changed the topic of conversation.

However, he was loyal to all the popes he served, whether or not he agreed with everything they did or said. Even when he was framed by his enemies and their allies in Victoria, he never complained, as I noted when I visited him in prison not long before he was acquitted by the High Court. As his diaries reveal, he deepened his spirituality in prison.

Was he compassionate and tolerant? Yes. While holding firmly to Catholic moral teachings, as Archbishop of Sydney, he consoled victims of AIDS in hospital. But was he a “bully”? No, more like a tough football coach who expected much. Yet he was no micro manager. He trusted his colleagues when we worked in projects which showed his amazing vision and imagination. He never feared spending money. In the early stage of directing his religious education textbook project, he ticked me off for “only spending one and six”, so I spent big and the books soon appeared with good effects.

Note his old-fashioned reference to money. While closely following current events, he was not technically minded. When I lived with him at the archbishop’s house in Melbourne, he could not type and I tried, in vain, to teach him how to use the tele-commander. But his library showed that he had a deep knowledge of British constitutional law. We disagreed over “the republic” but I respected his position in favour of an elected president.

Others may pay tribute to his mark on the Australian church, undoubtedly a great leader. I prefer to recall George Pell as the gifted man I knew. Human, urbane, holy but not pious, a Christian gentleman who followed Christ as a faithful disciple.

Peter Elliott was Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne from 2007 to 2018.