Cut loose by the Vatican, frail George Pell admitted to hospital

A frail George Pell has been admitted to hospital, after being removed as one of the Pope’s inner circle of advisers.

Cardinal George Pell at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital yesterday. Picture: Diimex

A frail George Pell has been admitted to hospital, emerging briefly in Sydney for the first time yesterday after being removed as one of the Pope’s inner circle of advisers.

Cardinal Pell, considered to be the third-most senior cleric in the Catholic Church, declined to comment on his removal from the Vatican’s Council of Cardinals.

Cardinal Pell was driven into St Vincent’s Hospital yesterday morning. He got out of the car with the use of two crutches, which helped support his heavy frame. The cardinal, 77, who did not speak when photographed in the inner-city Darlinghurst car park, was walking slowly, removing the crutches from the back seat of the white Holden before entering the building.

Cardinal Pell, who has a long-term heart condition, was assisted by close friend Chris Meney, a Sydney Catholic, who has regularly been by his side since the senior Vatican official’s return to Australia last year. Mr Meney carried Cardinal Pell’s three bags as the cardinal, wearing a large, loose-fitting shirt and dark pants, walked inside.

The Council of Cardinals, known as the C9 for its nine members and formed in 2013, is the Pope’s advisory body on governance and reform. Cardinal Pell’s role on the C9 placed him at the apex of influence in the Vatican. Once tipped as a candidate to become pope, Cardinal Pell is still notionally head of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, which runs the church’s multi-billion-dollar finances.

He was one of three clergy to be retired from the C9 due to their advancing years.

Cardinal Pell has been in Australia since the middle of last year and is facing prosecution in the County Court of Victoria for historical child sexual offences. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Friends have been concerned about his mobility in recent months as well as the long-running heart issues, which have affected his ability to take long-haul flights.

Cardinal Pell retains significant connections within the Australian Catholic community and has strong support from the upper echelons of the church as he battles his health problems, which are not believed to be life-threatening.

While his home town is the regional city of Ballarat in western Victoria, he has effectively made Sydney his home in Australia, having previously served as the head of the Archdiocese of Sydney.

Holy See media director Greg Burke said this week the Pope advised Cardinal Pell, Chilean cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz and Congolese cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya at the end of October that their terms had lapsed.

“After a five-year term, these three have passed out for the ­moment,” Mr Burke said.