‘He was to suffer greatly’: Hobart Archbishop Julian Porteous mourns death of Cardinal George Pell

Hobart’s Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous has released a statement following the death of the high-profile – and highly controversial – Cardinal George Pell.

Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart in St Mary's Cathedral, Hobart. Picture: Matthew Newton

HOBART’s Archbishop says he feels “great personal sadness and shock” at the death of George Pell, adding the Cardinal suffered greatly in recent years amid “public vilification”.

Pell, 81, died in Vatican City in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Australian-time, due to complications after a hip replacement operation.

His death comes just four years after he was convicted of molesting two choirboys in Melbourne during the 1990s – before those convictions were quashed by the High Court in 2020.

Archbishop Julian Porteous said in a statement he’d worked with Pell – Australia’s most senior Catholic – as a former auxiliary bishop in Sydney for 10 years, and knew him as a man of “deep personal faith with a profound love for the church”.

“He was to suffer greatly for his strong stand on many issues and experienced, no doubt, much personal pain during his time of trial and imprisonment, especially due to the level of public vilification,” he said.

“He was unbowed by this experience.”

Tasmania’s Catholic community has responded to news of Cardinal George Pell’s death.

Archbishop Porteous said after his time in prison, Pell spent his final years back in Rome, where he continued to contribute to the church’s mission.

“Along with so many who admired him and loved him, I pray for the repose of his soul and commend him to the Lord, whom he served with unstinting devotion,” he said.

Meanwhile, senior Hobart priest Michael Tate also paid homage to his late friend, who he studied with at Oxford University during the 1960s, when both were in their 20s.

Father Tate also indicated his belief in Pell’s innocence over his child sexual abuse allegations – claiming the Cardinal “undoubtedly suffered one of the worst travesties of justice in Australian history”.

“I hope his death was not hastened by his long unjust imprisonment,” he told the Mercury.

Michael Tate, early student days in England 1969. Picture: SUPPLIED

George Pell, aged 30, from a Catholic journal in 1971.

After meeting at university, Father Tate went on to become a federal politician for the Labor party, serving under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, notably serving as minister for justice, while Pell ultimately ended up in the Vatican as the most senior Australian to ever serve the church.

Father Tate is now parish priest of South Hobart, Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Hobart, and continues to work in academia.

“I first knew George Pell back in Oxford when he was studying for his doctorate and I was a mere BA (Bachelor of Arts) student,” he said.

Senior Hobart Catholic priest Michael Tate. Picture: Sam Rosewarne

Father Tate described Pell as a traditionalist who found it difficult to accept the approach taken by Pope Francis, “which is greatly trusting in the sense of the ordinary Catholics”.

“Our friendship endured and I’m very sorry that his strong voice for reforming the financial structure of the Holy See will no longer be heard,” he said.

“On a personal level, (he was) very affable, and also very strong and determined in relation to matters of doctrine and ways of governing the church.”

But Father Tate said Pell’s death would “be greatly felt”, before adding some comments about the sexual abuse allegations that marred the Cardinal’s latter years.

“As a former minister for justice, I was appalled at the failure to apply the traditional standard of proof, and George Pell undoubtedly suffered one of the worst travesties of justice in Australian history.”

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