Retirement not an option, says George Pell

George Pell has ‘absolutely no plans to retire’ from his job of reforming the Vatican’s byzantine’s financial systems.

Cardinal Pell reads a statement to the media after a private meeting with the clergy victims at Hotel Quirinale in Rome. Pic Ella Pellegrini

Cardinal George Pell has “abso­lutely no plans to retire’’ either in Australia or in Europe from his job of reforming the Vatican’s byzantine financial systems.

In his first interview after his 20-hour appearance before the Royal Commission into Instit­utional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse via videolink from Rome this week, Cardinal Pell, 74, said his work as Vatican Prefect for the Economy was “well advanced, but with important things still to do’’. He is leading an overhaul of the church’s finances, to improve accountability and transparency.

Cardinal Pell turns 75 in June, the age when cardinals and archbishops must submit their resig­nations to the pope, who turns 80 in December. Often, the resignations are not accepted. Cardinal Pell said Pope Francis, who had followed the hearings this week, was aware of his work in combating the abuse of children by clergy.

Media interest in this week’s hearings was intense in Europe. “It could even have something of a beneficial effect,’’ Cardinal Pell said. The reports showed “gross mistakes’’ were made in the past in the church in Australia, but processes had improved, starting with the changes he instigated in 1996.

Asked whether he was concerned that royal commissioner Peter McClellan and counsel assistin­g, Gail Furness SC, had found some of his evidence “implausible­’’, he said: “I was asked questions and I responded truthfully.’’ Ms Furness questioned the cardinal’s statements he had been kept in the dark by Melbourne’s archbishop Frank Little, Ballarat’s then bishop Ronald Mulkearns and Catholic education officials in Melbourne about sex abuse, ­especially by notorious pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale.

In an interview with News Corp Australia columnist Andrew Bolt last night, Cardinal Pell clarified his comments made at the commission that Ridsdale’s “sad story” wasn’t “of much interest” to him, saying: “Things that were professionally necessary to know I was completely ready to study them.’’ He added that the comments were a slip and “19½ hours of integration ain’t nothing”.

Cardinal Pell told The Weekend Australian Victoria Police had not contacted him over supposed allegations of child abuse on his part, despite information leaked to the media a fortnight ago claiming Taskforce Sano was investigating such allegations.

He called for a public inquiry into Victoria Police after the report, which said the taskforce was investigating a variety of complaints dating from 1978 when he was a priest in Ballarat to 2001, when he resigned as archbishop of Melbourne to transfer to Sydney. He has denied all the allegations.

He believed much of the hostility in the lead-up to the hearings arose from the fact that he was sociall­y conservative and had defended­ the church “vigorously on occasions’’.

The cardinal disagreed with Bolt’s observation that he seemed wooden after the meeting with ­victims on Thursday, and that he was in fact happy. “I am not wooden inside,’’ he said. “I’m a bit buttoned up ... the way I was trained, way I survive ... you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Additional reporting: Jennine Khalik