George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian
cardinal of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He served as the inaugural
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
of the
Secretariat for the Economy
The Secretariat for the Economy ( it, Segreteria per l'economia) is a dicastery of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
Description
Pope Francis established the secretariat in ...
between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the
Council of Cardinal Advisers
The Council of Cardinals (called C9 due to the fact it contained 9 cardinal members for some time), also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of cardinals of the Catholic Church appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his adviser ...
between 2013 and 2018. Ordained a priest in 1966 and bishop in 1987, he was made a cardinal in 2003. Pell served as the eighth
Archbishop of Sydney (2001–2014), the seventh
Archbishop of Melbourne (1996–2001) and an
auxiliary bishop of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
(1987–1996). He has also been an author, columnist and public speaker.
Since 1996, Pell has maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining an adherence to
Catholic orthodoxy.
Pell worked as a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
in rural
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and in Melbourne and also chaired the aid organisation Caritas Australia (part of
Caritas Internationalis
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Collectively and individually, their missions are to work to build a bet ...
) from 1988 to 1997. He was appointed as a delegate to the
Australian Constitutional Convention in 1998, received the
Centenary Medal from the Australian government in 2003 and was appointed a
Companion of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in 2005. During his tenure as Archbishop of Melbourne, Pell set up the "Melbourne Response" protocol in 1996 to investigate and deal with complaints of
child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
in the archdiocese.
The protocol was the first of its kind in the world but has been subjected to a variety of criticisms.
Pell in 2018 was found guilty of various sexual offences: the convictions were later quashed by the
High Court of Australia in 2020.
[Guilty verdict:
*
*
*
*] A separate investigation by the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
's
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
into these allegations of abuse concluded upon his acquittal by the High Court.
Australia's
revealed its findings on Pell in 2020 and found that he knew of child sexual abuse by clergy by the 1970s but did not take adequate action to address it. Pell said he was "surprised" and that the commission's views "are not supported by evidence".
Early life and education
Pell was born on 8 June 1941 in
Ballarat,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
to George Arthur and Margaret Lillian Pell (née Burke).
His father was a non-practising
Anglican whose ancestors were from
Leicestershire in England; he was also a
heavyweight boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
champion. His mother was a devout Catholic of Irish descent.
As a child, Pell underwent 24 operations to remove an
abscess in his throat.
Pell attended
Loreto Convent and
St Patrick's College (from which he matriculated) in Ballarat.
At St Patrick's, Pell played
Australian rules football as a
ruckman on the first XVIII from 1956 to 1959.
He signed with the
Richmond Football Club in 1959 and played for the club in the
VFL reserves. However, his ambitions later turned to the
priesthood. Speaking of his decision to become a priest, Pell once said, "To put it crudely, I feared and suspected and eventually became convinced that God wanted me to do His work, and I was never able to successfully escape that conviction."
In 1960, Pell began his studies for the priesthood at
Corpus Christi College, then located in
Werribee
Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham Local government areas of Victoria, local government a ...
.
He continued to play football and served as class
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
in his second and third years.
In 1963, he was assigned to continue his studies at the
Pontifical Urban University
The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...
in Rome.
He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
to the
diaconate
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
on 15 August 1966.
Ecclesiastical career
Priesthood
On 16 December 1966, Pell was ordained a priest by Cardinal
Gregorio Pietro Agagianian
Gregorio Pietro XV Agagianian (; anglicized: ''Gregory Peter''; Western hy, Գրիգոր Պետրոս ԺԵ. Աղաճանեան, ''Krikor Bedros ŽĒ. Aghajanian''; born Ghazaros Aghajanian, 15 September 1895 – 16 May 1971) was an Armen ...
at
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
. He received a
Licentiate of Sacred Theology degree from the
Pontificia Università Urbaniana in 1967, and continued his studies at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
where he earned a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
degree in
church history
__NOTOC__
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...
in 1971 with a thesis entitled "The exercise of authority in early Christianity from about 170 to about 270".
During his studies at Oxford he also served as a
chaplain to Catholic students at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
.
In 1971, he returned to Australia and was assigned to serve as an
assistant priest in
Swan Hill
Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508.
Indigenous Peo ...
, where he remained for two years.
He then served at a parish in
Ballarat East from 1973 to 1983, becoming administrator of the parish of Bungaree in 1984.
In 1982, he earned a
Master of Education
The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...
degree from
Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...
in Melbourne.
During his tenure in Ballarat East and Bungaree, he also served as
Episcopal Vicar
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
for Education (1973–84), director of the Aquinas campus of the Institute of Catholic Education (1974–84) and principal of the Institute of Catholic Education (1981–84).
He was also
editor of ''Light'', the newspaper of the
Diocese of Ballarat, from 1979 to 1984.
From 1985 to 1987, Pell served as seminary
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of his ''
alma mater'', Corpus Christi College.
Diocesan episcopal career
Pell was appointed an
auxiliary bishop of Melbourne and
titular Bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...
of
Roman Catholic Diocese of Scala (Italy) on 30 March 1987. He received his
episcopal consecration
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on 21 May 1987 from Archbishop
Frank Little, with bishops
Ronald Mulkearns
Ronald Austin Mulkearns (11 November 19303 April 2016) was the bishop emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat in Ballarat, Australia, a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Melbourne. He resigned as bishop on 30 May 1997. The Roy ...
and Joseph O'Connell serving as
co-consecrators. He served as Bishop for the Southern Region of Melbourne (1987–96). During this time, he was a parish priest in
Mentone.
Pell was named seventh
Archbishop of Melbourne on 16 July 1996, receiving the
pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...
from
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on 29 June 1997. He was later appointed eighth
Archbishop of Sydney on 26 March 2001 and again received the pallium from John Paul on 29 June 2001.
Pell was a consultor of the
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (''Justitia et Pax'') was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia dedicated to "action-oriented studies" for the international promotion of justice, peace, and human rights from the perspective of the ...
from 1990 to 1995 and a member from 2002. From 1990 to 2000 he was a member of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
. In April 2002, John Paul II named him President of the
Vox Clara commission to advise the
Congregation for Divine Worship
it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti
, type = Dicastery
, seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
, seal_size = 100px
, seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See
, logo =
, p ...
on English translations of liturgical texts.
On 21 December 2002 he was appointed a member of the
Pontifical Council for the Family
The Pontifical Council for the Family was a pontifical council of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church from 1981 to 2016. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio ''Familia a Deo Instituta'', replacing the Com ...
, having previously served as a consultor to the council. On 22 September 2012, Pell was appointed a member of the
Congregation for Bishops.
As Archbishop of Melbourne, Pell maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining a strict adherence to Catholic orthodoxy; with some dispute over the issue of Catholics and "primacy of conscience".
In 2001, he argued: "We must not allow the situation to deteriorate as it had in
Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...
's time, 850 years before Christ, where
monotheism
Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfo ...
was nearly swamped by the aggressive paganism of the followers of
Baal
Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied t ...
." In 2010, on reviewing the movie ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
'', he wrote: "Worship of the powerful forces of nature is half right, a primitive stage in the movement towards acknowledging the one: the single Transcendent God, above and beyond nature. It is a symptom of our age that Hollywood is pumping out this old-fashioned
pagan propaganda."
Pope John Paul II announced on 28 September 2003 that he would appoint Pell and 28 others to the
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...
. In the
consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
* Consistor ...
of 21 October he was made
cardinal priest
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
of
Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello. With Pell as cardinal, Australia had for the first time, three cardinals eligible to participate in a
papal election
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
...
: Pell,
Edward Bede Clancy, and
Edward Idris Cassidy
Edward Idris Cassidy AC (5 July 1924 – 10 April 2021) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church who was president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 1989 to 2001. He headed the Commission of the Holy See f ...
.
Pell was one of the
cardinal electors in 2005 who participated in the
2005 papal conclave that elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
. He is reported to have served as an unauthorised "campaign manager" for Ratzinger.
Pell was mentioned as a possible successor to Benedict XVI as head of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
.
Pell instituted new guidelines in February 2007 for family members speaking at funerals. He said that, "on not a few occasions, inappropriate remarks glossing over the deceased's proclivities (drinking prowess, romantic conquests etc) or about the Church (attacking its moral teachings) have been made at funeral Masses." Under Pell's guidelines, the
eulogy
A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...
must never replace the celebrant's
homily, which should focus on the scripture readings selected, God's compassion, and the
resurrection of Jesus
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...
.
![Cardinal George Pell](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Cardinal_George_Pell.jpg)
Pell lobbied for the successful Sydney bid to host the
2008 World Youth Day, which brought Benedict XVI on his first papal visit to Australia. The event drew approximately half a million young people from 200 countries, and one million people came to see the Pope. On 19 July 2008, Benedict issued his first public apology to victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
In their 2010
Good Friday sermons, both Pell and his
Anglican counterpart Archbishop
Peter Jensen attacked
atheism. Both men were also closely aligned on policy issues and Jensen launched Pell's biography.
Pell was named by Benedict XVI on 18 September 2012 to be one of the papally appointed Synod Fathers for the October 2012 Ordinary General Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.
Pell was the only cardinal from
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
to take part in the
2013 papal conclave
The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...
. At that conclave, he was thought to be organising votes on behalf of Cardinal
Angelo Scola
Angelo Scola (; born 7 November 1941) is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church, philosopher and theologian. He was Archbishop of Milan from 2011 to 2017. He had served as Patriarch of Venice from 2002 to 2011. He has been a cardinal since 20 ...
of Milan, the favourite candidate of the Italian cardinals.
Following his election,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
named Pell, the only cardinal available to represent Oceania,
one of
eight members to advise the Pope on reform of the Vatican bureaucracy, called the
Roman Curia; they were appointed to five-year terms.
Secretariat for the Economy
In February 2014, Pell was appointed to be the first
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
of the newly created
Secretariat for the Economy
The Secretariat for the Economy ( it, Segreteria per l'economia) is a dicastery of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
Description
Pope Francis established the secretariat in ...
.
In this role, Pell is responsible for the annual budget of the Holy See and the Vatican.
In July 2014 Pell, with the consent of Pope Francis, had the Ordinary Section of
Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; it, Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, link=no) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the fun ...
(APSA) transferred to the Secretariat for the Economy to enable the Secretariat to exercise economic control and vigilance over the agencies of the Holy See. It was also announced that remaining staff of APSA would begin to focus exclusively on its role as a treasury for the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
Following the confirmation of the mission of the
Institute for the Works of Religion
The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...
(IOR - also known as the Vatican Bank) by the Pope on 7 April 2014, the IOR announced plans for the next stage of development. The
Council of Cardinal Advisers
The Council of Cardinals (called C9 due to the fact it contained 9 cardinal members for some time), also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of cardinals of the Catholic Church appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his adviser ...
, the Secretariat for the Economy, the Supervisory Commission of Cardinals, and the current IOR Board of Superintendence agreed that this plan will be carried out by a new executive team led by Jean-Baptiste de Franssu.
Pell was appointed a member of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
on 13 September 2014. In November 2014, the Secretariat for the Economy distributed a new handbook to all Vatican offices outlining financial management policies that would go into effect on 1 January 2015. The manual was endorsed by the
Council for the Economy
The Secretariat for the Economy ( it, Segreteria per l'economia) is a dicastery of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
Description
Pope Francis established the secretariat in ...
and approved by the Pope. “The purpose of the manual is very simple,” said Pell, “it brings Financial Management practices in line with international standards and will help all Entities and Administrations of the Holy See and the Vatican City State prepare financial reports in a consistent and transparent manner.” In 2015, Cardinal
Francesco Coccopalmerio questioned the scope of the authority given to the Secretariat and to Pell himself, specifically the consolidation of management and not the demand for transparency.
On 12 December 2018, the Vatican announced that Pell was one of three "more elderly" cardinals who were to leave the Pope's
Council of Cardinal Advisers
The Council of Cardinals (called C9 due to the fact it contained 9 cardinal members for some time), also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of cardinals of the Catholic Church appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his adviser ...
after a five-year term. The three were also thanked by the Pope for their service. On 24 February 2019,
his five-year term as Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy expired.
Vatican investigation of sexual abuse charges
Immediately following Pell's initial conviction for sexual abuse in February 2019, the Holy See's
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
(CDF) initiated its own investigation of the charges against him, but the Vatican also said the CDF would await a "definitive judgment" from the Australian courts in the case. The Pope reaffirmed at that time that Pell was "forbidden to exercise public ministry and ... from having contact in any way or form with minors", restrictions that had been in place since Pell's return to Australia in July 2017. When Pell's conviction was upheld in August 2019, the Vatican again said its review would wait for Pell to exhaust his appeals. When Pell's convictions were quashed in April 2020, a Vatican spokesperson said that ruling would contribute to the CDF's investigation which would "draw its conclusions on the basis of the norms of canon law".
The CDF's investigations concluded upon Pell's acquittal by the High Court.
Health in later life
In January 2010, Pell experienced
cardiac
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...
problems during his Vatican visit, and in February had a
pacemaker fitted in a Rome hospital. In 2015, Pell's doctors judged his heart condition serious enough to prevent air travel from Italy to Australia to appear before the
. He was expected to be well enough to travel in February 2016. However, he was excused from giving evidence in person by commission chair Justice
Peter McClellan
Peter David McClellan is a retired judge of the New South Wales Court of Appeal who served between February 2013 and February 2018. McClellan was the Chief Royal Commissioner of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual ...
, based on a two-page medical report submitted by Pell's lawyers. He testified from a hotel in Rome through a video link up.
In December 2018, he underwent knee surgery. He recovered sufficiently to stop using a cane by June 2019. In February 2019, when he was taken into custody following his conviction, an assessment of his mental and physical health concluded he was healthy enough to be kept in
HM Melbourne Assessment Prison.
Views
In the Australian context, Pell is regarded as progressive on many social issues but a conservative on matters of faith and morals.
He has often been wary of what he calls the "callousness" of unrestrained
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
. He has written that a Catholic is someone who is not only a person of personal conscience but "is someone who believes Christ is Son of God, accepts His teachings and lives a life of worship, service and duty in the community. Catholics are not created by the accident of birth to remain only because their tribe has an interesting history."
Theology and worship
''Ad orientem'' liturgy
In 2009 Pell supported, in the abstract but not as a proposal for immediate application, mandatory celebration of the
Canon of the Mass with the orientation of the priest ''
ad orientem
''Ad orientem'', meaning "to the east" in Ecclesiastical Latin, is a phrase used to describe the eastward orientation of Christian prayer and Christian worship, comprising the preposition ''ad'' (toward) and ''oriens'' (rising, sunrise, east), ...
'' (towards the east), facing in the same direction as the congregation. "There's nothing like a consensus in favour of that at the moment", he said. "I think I would be in favour of it because it makes it patently clear that the priest is not the centre of the show, that this is an act of worship of the one true God, and the people are joining with the priest for that."
Adam and Eve
During a debate against
Richard Dawkins on the show ''
Q&A'' in 2012, in response to whether there had ever been a
Garden of Eden scenario with an "actual"
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
, Pell said:
Ordination of women and priestly celibacy
In 2005 Pell supported the view that the
ordination of women as priests is impossible according to the church's divine constitution and said that abandoning the tradition of
clerical celibacy would be a "serious blunder".
Pope Benedict XVI
Pell said that the decision of
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
to retire in 2013 could set a precedent which may be a problem for future leaders. He thought Benedict's decision to step down had destabilised the church and some of those surrounding the Pope had failed to support him in his ministry. "He was well aware that this is a break with tradition
ndslightly destabilising", Pell said. According to him, the Pope was a better theologian than he was a leader.
In response to the statement that he had criticised Benedict XVI, Pell said he was stating what the Pope already mentioned himself, and his comments were "not breaking any ground".
During a youth conference in Parramatta, Bishop
Anthony Fisher
Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the ...
said that Pell was merely "stating the pros and cons of the Pope's decision" and those who said his comments were critical were taking him out of context.
Political issues
Asylum seekers and refugees
Pell has criticised the bipartisan policy of mandatory detention of
asylum seekers in Australia
Asylum in Australia has been granted to many refugees since 1945, when half a million Europeans displaced by World War II were given asylum. Since then, there have been periodic waves of asylum seekers from South East Asia and the Middle East, ...
and called for "empathy and compassion" towards displaced peoples. Pell said that while a policy of deterrence was justifiable, the practice of the policy was coming at too great a "moral cost". Describing conditions in some of Australia's mandatory detention camps in 2001 as "pretty tight and miserable" and "no place for women and children", Pell called for investigation of any maltreatment of detainees and said that, while Australia has the right to regulate the number of refugees it accepts, as a rich and prosperous country, it can "afford to be generous" and must treat humanely those refugees who reach Australia.
Environmental positions
In a 2006 speech, Pell said that "hysterical and extreme claims" about the natural environment were the result of the "pagan emptiness" of Western culture. He said: "In the past pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate capricious and cruel gods. Today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions." In a 2007 article for the Sydney ''
Sunday Telegraph'', Pell wrote that while climate had changed, he was "certainly sceptical about extravagant claims of impending man-made climatic catastrophes, because the evidence is insufficient".
Responding to the Anglican bishop and environmentalist
George Browning, who told the
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...
's general synod that Pell was out of touch with the Catholic Church as well as with the general community,
Pell stated:
In July 2015, Pell criticised Pope Francis's
encyclical ''
Laudato si'
''Laudato si (''Praise Be to You'') is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle "on care for our common home". In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradatio ...
'' for associating the church with the need to address climate. Pell said:
Pell publicly expressed concern regarding population decline in July 2008 in a homily for the opening Mass of the
World Youth Day
World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-L ...
in Sydney, in response to comments made by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
regarding climate change. While travelling to Sydney for the event, Benedict stated in a brief interview that Catholics and others must commit "to finding an ethical way to change our way of life and ways to respond to these great challenges" regarding climate change. Pell stated in his homily that mankind has a duty not "to damage and destroy or ruthlessly use the environment at the expense of future generations", but expressed scepticism regarding human activity causing climate change.
Pell stated that the "slowing population growth and apathy towards God are the biggest challenges facing the church" and that Western nations faced a population crisis fuelled by "ruthless commercial forces", such that "No western country is producing enough babies to keep the population stable, no western country."
["Populate or perish, says Cardinal Pell"]
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 15 July 2008; cf
"Economist condemns Pell's push for more babies"
Pell's views were contested in the Australian context by the environmental group
Sustainable Population Australia
Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) (formerly Australians for an Ecologically Sustainable Population) is an Australian special advocacy group, founded in Canberra in 1988, that seeks to establish an ecologically sustainable human population. S ...
, whose media release of 14 July 2008 cited Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that Australia had "a population growth rate of 1.6%, higher than the global average, with twice as many births as deaths...". (The media release is missing from the website https://population.org.au/news/page/58/). Pell's views were contested in a global context by the economist
Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs () (born 5 November 1954) is an American economist, academic, public policy analyst, and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he holds the title of University Professor. He is known for his work ...
, who argued that "The planet, everyone can feel, is just right at the limits right now in terms of food, in terms of energy supply, in terms of land use." Sachs also suggested that world population projections "are already too high at around an extra 2.5 billion people by 2050".
Interfaith issues
Islam
Pell has written of a need to "deepen friendship and understanding" with
Muslims in the post–
September 11 environment and has said that though there is a continuing struggle throughout the Muslim world between moderates and men of violence, he believes that, in Australia, "the moderates are in control". In 2004, speaking to the
Acton Institute
The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is an American research and educational institution, or think tank, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, (with an office in Rome) whose stated mission is "to promote a free and virtuous society ch ...
on the problems of "secular democracy", Pell drew a parallel between
Islam and
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
: "Islam may provide in the 21st century, the attraction that communism provided in the 20th, both for those that are alienated and embittered on the one hand and for those who seek order or justice on the other."
In February 2006, addressing Catholic business leaders in
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...
, Pell stated: "Considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited." He doubted that Islam possesses the capacity for theological development because "In the Muslim understanding, the Koran comes directly from God, unmediated. The Bible, in contrast, is a product of human co-operation with divine inspiration." In 2012 and 2013, Pell hosted
Iftar
Iftar ( ar, translit=Iftar Ramadan, إفطار رمضان), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer ...
dinners to mark the end of the Islamic celebration of
Ramadan. The
Grand Mufti of Australia
The Grand Mufti of Australia is a Sunni Muslim cleric, or Grand Mufti, chosen to represent and answer questions from the growing Muslim population. Nominated by the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), the current Grand Mufti of Australia ...
,
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed (alternative spelling, Ibrahim Abu Mohammed) is an Egyptian-born and educated Sunni Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of Australia from September 2011 to March 2018. He became Grand Mufti again after Afifi's death.
Personal ...
, expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Pell on behalf of Muslims for hosting the dinner.
Pell said during the 2012 dinner that such gatherings are one of the fruits of tolerance that flourishes in Australian society and is a sign of respect for diversity, stating:
Judaism
Pell has participated in
interfaith dialogue
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
s and celebrations involving Jews. In 2001, he told one such audience at
Mandelbaum House that he had come from a strongly pro-Jewish family and of being saddened during his studies of history to find Christian ill-treatment of Jews. Pell spoke of the need to remember the Holocaust and of his visits to concentration camps and of his support for the right of the state of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
to exist. He praised the role of Vatican II and of Pope John Paul II in advancing the cause of Christian-Jewish dialogue and co-operation. Pell also spoke in praise of the Jewish
psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
as "a body of prayerful literature" unequalled in any other tradition and singled out the Jewish prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel as authors for whom he has a deep love and Elijah as one whom he views as highly significant. Pell called on Christian and Jewish leaders alike to speak together and respectfully listen to each other, saying of the Christian-Jewish relationship:
Pell's remarks to Richard Dawkins led to a clarification from his office, reported by ''
The Times of Israel
''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman. '' as an apology.
Pell said, "My commitment to friendship with the Jewish community, and my esteem for the Jewish faith is a matter of public record, and the last thing I would want to do is give offence to either" and that the Holocaust was "a crime unique in history for the death and suffering it caused and its diabolical attempt to wipe out an entire people."
Sexuality, marriage and bioethics
Pell has received much attention for his attitudes to sexuality issues, particularly
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
. When installed as Archbishop of Sydney in May 2001, he said that "Christian teaching on sexuality is only one part of the
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
, of the virtues and vices, but it is essential for human wellbeing and especially for the proper flourishing of marriages and families, for the continuity of the human race."
Divorce and remarriage
Pell says that, outside exceptional circumstances such as relationships involving physical abuse, it is better for individuals and for society if couples do not divorce, particularly where children are involved. In 2001,
ABC radio's ''The World Today'' reported that Pell wanted a return to a divorce system based on the fault of one spouse. Pell told the program that, in an effort to "focus attention on the damage, personal and financial, that unfortunately often follows from divorce" he had prepared a list for public consideration of possible penalties to discourage divorce (particularly where fault by one party was involved); as well as benefits to support couples who stayed together.
LGBT issues
In 1990, Pell stated publicly that while he recognised that
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
existed, such activity was nevertheless wrong and "for the good of society it should not be encouraged." He has also expressed his belief that
suicide rates among LGBT youth were a reason to discourage homosexuality, arguing that "Homosexual activity is a much greater health hazard than smoking." In 1998, Pell refused communion to members of the
Rainbow Sash Movement who had attended Mass at the cathedral in Melbourne. He publicly rebuked their actions to the applause of other parishioners. Pell opposed Australian legislation in 2006 that would have permitted LGBT couples to adopt children. In 2007, he said that discrimination against LGBT people was not comparable to that against racial minorities.
HIV/AIDS
In 2009, Pell supported the comments made by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
in Africa in relation to controlling the spread of AIDS, in which the Pope reiterated the Catholic teaching that the solution to the AIDS epidemic lay not in the distribution of condoms, but in the practice of sexual abstinence and monogamy within marriage. The Pope said that AIDS could not be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which "can even increase the problem". In response to global coverage of these remarks, Pell said that AIDS was a "great spiritual and health crisis" and a huge challenge, but that "Condoms are encouraging promiscuity. They are encouraging irresponsibility."
The president of the AIDS Council of New South Wales, Marc Orr, said Pell's comments were "irresponsible" and "contradicted all evidence" that condoms reduced the transmission of HIV: Mike Toole (
Burnet Institute) and Rob Moodie (Nossal Institute for Global Health) wrote in ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
'' that Pell had said a health worker from an African country told him that "people in remote areas are too poor to afford condoms and the ones that are available are often of very poor quality and weren't used effectively". Both professors argue that "this is not an argument against promoting condoms – it is an argument that we need to ensure that good quality condoms are affordable for everyone and are widely distributed with information about how to use them effectively" and concluded "the sexual abstinence message is clearly not working."
In 2010, Benedict told an interviewer that while the church did not consider condoms as a "real or moral solution", there were times where the "intention of reducing the risk of infection" made condom use "a first step" towards a better way. Pell released a statement saying this did not signal a major new shift in Vatican thinking.
Stem cell research
Pell supports research on the therapeutic potential of
adult stem cells
Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς, ...
but opposes
embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre- implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist ...
research on the basis that the Church cannot support anything which involves "the destruction of human life at any stage after conception". Under Pell, the Sydney archdiocese has provided funding for adult stem cell research but has actively opposed moves by the
Parliament of New South Wales to liberalise laws pertaining to use of embryonic stem cells.
Following a
conscience vote
A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party. In a parliamentary ...
in the
Parliament of New South Wales overturning a ban on
therapeutic cloning
In genetics and developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a laboratory strategy for creating a viable embryo from a body cell and an egg cell. The technique consists of taking an enucleated oocyte (egg cell) and implantin ...
, in June 2007 Pell said that "Catholic politicians who vote for this legislation must realise that their voting has consequences for their place in the life of the Church."
Some members of parliament, including ministers such as
Kristina Keneally
Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who was a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully contest the House of Repres ...
and
Nathan Rees
Nathan Rees () (born 12 February 1968) is a former Australian politician who served as the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009. Rees wa ...
, condemned Pell's comments, calling them hypocritical; Rees drew comparisons with comments made earlier in the year by
Sheik Hilali.
Australian Greens MLC
Lee Rhiannon
Lee Rhiannon (formerly O'Gorman, ''née'' Brown; born 30 May 1951) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales between July 2011 and August 2018. She was elected at the 2010 federal election, representing the Aus ...
referred Pell's remarks to the New South Wales
parliamentary privileges committee for allegedly being in
contempt of parliament. Pell described this move as a "clumsy attempt to curb religious freedom and freedom of speech". In September the committee tabled a report clearing him of this charge and recommending that no further action be taken.
The legal scholar and theologian
Cathleen Kaveny wrote that "In every possible respect, Pell's statement backfired" as, following backlash from elected officials and the general public, the bill passed the lower house with what she describes as "an overwhelming 65–26 vote" and passed the upper house with a 27–13 vote.
Other roles
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney takes the role of
visitor of
St John's College, a residential college within the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
. This is a largely ceremonial role but he can also be called upon to give guidance and resolve internal disputes. Under the direction of the archbishop the college associates itself with the interests of the Church and its mission, particularly by the fostering of appropriate academic directions in education, charity, social justice, ethics and the environment.
Pell accepted the invitation to be patron of the
Oxford University Newman Society and to deliver their inaugural St Thomas More Lecture on 6 March 2009. Pell was a contributor of articles for the
Australian media, including regular columns for Sydney's ''The Sunday Telegraph'' newspaper.
Handling of child sexual abuse cases by clergy while archbishop
Pell's tenure as Archbishop of Melbourne began when the issue of handling of child sex abuse allegations by institutions was coming to the fore in public debate. Launching the "Melbourne Response" protocol in 1996, Pell said: "It's a matter of regret that the Catholic Church has taken some time to come to grips with the sex abuse issue adequately."
In his final sermon as Archbishop of Sydney in 2014 before departing Australia for Rome, Pell told the congregation: "I apologise once again to the victims and their families for the terrible suffering that has been brought to bear by these crimes". He said procedural improvements could still be made to the church's efforts against child sexual abuse, and then he added that he "looked forward" to the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which he said was providing a "public service" in allowing victims to air their experiences. His choice of words drew wide criticism as they were perceived as being inappropriately blithe and unempathetic to the victims of abuse.
"Melbourne Response" protocol for abuse cases
Shortly after becoming Archbishop of Melbourne in August 1996, Pell discussed the issue of child abuse with the Victorian premier, governor and retired judge Richard McGarvie, who all recommended swift action.
He engaged the law firm Corrs to draft a scheme which would be funded by but operate independently of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
A public forum was held on 19 October and the resulting "Melbourne Response" was announced on 30 October 1996.
Victims were publicly encouraged to come forward. Pell's Melbourne-specific policy preceded the national church response, known as "Towards Healing", which the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference approved in November and took effect in March 1997.
When Pell was appointed a cardinal in 2003, the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
said that he had established Australia's first independent commissioner to handle child sexual abuse complaints against clergy.
The Melbourne Response was the subject of Case Study 16 in the 2013–2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and was also examined in the 2013 Victorian government ''Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations''. Pell was called to testify at both inquiries.
In 2017, the royal commission reported that the Melbourne Response was "widely criticised as being legalistic and offering inadequate support to victims".
According to the royal commission, the Melbourne Response set its goals as "truth, humility, healing for the victims, assistance to other persons affected, an adequate response to those accused and to offenders and the prevention of any such offences in the future".
Its key features were the appointment of independent commissioners to inquire into allegations and make recommendations; a counselling and support service (Carelink); and the establishment of a compensation panel to advise on making "ex-gratia" payments to victims of child sexual abuse.
The ''
ex gratia
(; also spelled ''ex-gratia'') is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ''ex gratia'', it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace. In law, an ''ex gratia payment'' is a payme ...
'' payments are made without the church recognising any liability to victims and were initially capped at $50,000.
It was increased to $55,000 in 2000 and to $75,000 in 2008.
Peter O'Callaghan was appointed the first independent commissioner. He went on to investigate 351 complaints of child sexual abuse, and upheld 97% of those.
2013 Victorian parliamentary inquiry
On 27 May 2013, Pell gave evidence before
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
's Parliamentary ''Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations''.
Pell told the inquiry that he was "fully apologetic and absolutely sorry". The parliamentarians questioned Pell over allegations from the parents of a victim that he had not shown them empathy. Pell said he had in fact fully understood the suffering. He agreed with the inquiry that his predecessor had "covered up" matters for fear of scandal. Pell was heckled from the gallery. Pell critic David Marr wrote that "He
elladmitted his church had covered up child sexual abuse for fear of scandal; that his predecessor Archbishop Little had destroyed records, moved paedophile priests from parish to parish and facilitated appalling crimes."
During the course of the inquiry, a victim of a paedophile Christian Brother at St Alipius Primary School said that in 1969 Pell heard him pleading for help a few weeks after he had been raped. Pell denied the statement, which was later discredited when Pell produced his passport to confirm that he was not living in Australia that year.
Response to historic allegations in Sydney
During Pell's time as Archbishop of Sydney, allegations of child sexual abuse were made against around 55 priests in the archdiocese. These were largely related to incidents that occurred prior to his arrival as archbishop. The allegations resulted in just under $8 million in reparation payments.
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
In late 2012, the Australian federal government established a
. Pell welcomed the inquiry and said "We think this is an opportunity to help the victims, it's an opportunity to clear the air and separate fact from fiction." He said there had been a persistent "press campaign against the Catholic Church".
The commission conducted hearings between 2013 and 2017. Pell gave evidence on three occasions to the royal commission, beginning in March 2014 in Sydney and via video link from the Vatican in August 2014 and in February/March 2016.
In his 2012 Christmas address Pell said he felt "shock and shame" at revelations of crime and wrongdoing that were completely contrary to Christ's teaching. Pell called the crimes and wrongdoings "disasters". He said he was "deeply sorry this has happened" and told his listeners to "help those who have been hurt".
Comments upholding the Seal of Confession
The announcement of the royal commission was accompanied by calls from some quarters for relaxing the requirement of confidentiality in confessions, which has been upheld by the Catholic Church since the fifth century. It is protected under
Australian law
The legal system of Australia has multiple forms. It includes a written constitution, unwritten constitutional conventions, statutes, regulations, and the judicially determined common law system. Its legal institutions and traditions are substa ...
in such statutes as the Evidence Act 1995 (which also provides protections for lawyers, journalists and spouses). When Pell was asked whether he thought that a priest who hears the confession of someone who has committed child sex abuse must remain bound by the
Seal of Confession
In the Catholic Church, the Seal of Confession (also known as the Seal of the Confessional or the Sacramental Seal) is the absolute duty of priests or anyone who happens to hear a confession not to disclose anything that they learn from penitents ...
, he replied:
The ABC reported that the comment "met with disapproval", citing Catholic politician
Barry O'Farrell
Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...
, who told Parliament that confessions should not be secret.
Accusations of misconduct
Criticisms of Pell's conduct and manner towards victims and perpetrators have been aired in the Australian media and considered at the royal commission. His appearances before the royal commission were met with intense public interest in Australia. He was heckled from the public galleries. Pell has complained of unfair treatment from the media and "relentless character assassination".
An
SBS article by Debi Marshall included suggestions Pell had ignored accounts of physical and child sexual abuse and covered up such abuse. Marshall raised the allegation that Pell had attempted to "bribe" a victim. However, Pell was cross-examined by Counsel Assisting Gail Furness over the widely publicised statement that in 1993, he attempted to bribe David Ridsdale into silence, when David Ridsdale called him about the historical misconduct of his child-molesting priest uncle
Gerald Ridsdale
Gerald Francis Ridsdale (born 20 May 1934) is an Australian laicised Catholic priest and sex offender. He was convicted between 1993 and 2017 of a large number of child sexual abuse and indecent assault charges against 65 children aged as young ...
. In her final submission, Furness conceded that the allegation was unlikely to be an accurate interpretation of Pell's intent, as it was already known that Gerald Ridsdale was under investigation by police, and David Ridsdale was requesting a private process and not suggesting he wanted to go to police.
The royal commission also considered evidence of Pell's "knowledge of rumours, allegations or complaints of Dowlan's sexual abuse of children in Ballarat", also raised in Marshall's article. One witness said he had gone to "Pell's presbytery" in Ballarat to warn him about Dowlan. Pell submitted evidence that he did not live in Ballarat or in that presbytery at the time, and the counsel-assisting said in her final submission that "Cardinal Pell's evidence about his living arrangements and duties in 1973 and 1974 make it less likely that he was at St Patrick's presbytery late in the afternoon on a week day."
March 2014 appearance
In 2014, the royal commission was told how lawyers representing Pell and the Archdiocese of Sydney incurred costs of A$1.5 million against a victim of child sexual abuse. The lawyers, acting on the church's instructions, "vigorously" fought John Ellis through the courts despite warnings of his "fragile psychological state". The resulting
New South Wales Court of Appeal
The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Jurisdiction
The Court of Appeal operates pursu ...
ruling established the controversial "Ellis Defence", which confirmed that the church could not be sued as a legal entity and held liable for child sexual abuse committed by a priest in such matters. Eventually, Ellis received $568,000 from the church. In a statement to the royal commission in March 2014, Pell reversed his earlier stance in support of the defence, saying: "My own view is that the Church in Australia should be able to be sued in cases of this kind."
In his 2014 appearance, Pell used an analogy of a trucking company: "If the truck driver picks up some lady and then molests her, I don't think it's appropriate, because it is contrary to the policy, for the ownership, the leadership of that company to be held responsible."
He was widely criticised for this remark.
The president of Adults Surviving Child Abuse, Cathy Kezelman, called his comments "outrageous", saying that they denied the experience of victims. Nicky Davis, from the
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, established in 1989, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization support group of survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters in the United States. Barbara Blaine, a survivor o ...
(SNAP), said that Pell had made a "highly offensive" comparison.
Michael Bradley, writing in his weekly column for
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
, said "Yes, it was mind-blowingly insensitive to draw that analogy and to so blithely refer to 'some lady'. But there was a much bigger hole. In the world according to Pell, if the Catholic Church has a policy that tells its priests not to rape children then, if they still do so, the Church cannot be held accountable."
2016 appearance
Pell appeared before the royal commission in February and March 2016 by video link from a hotel in Rome because his heart condition made travel to Australia inadvisable.
After the announcement that Pell would testify from Rome in 2016, a
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
campaign was launched to fund a trip to Rome by 15 victims of child sexual abuse to see Pell give evidence in person. It reached its target of A$55,000 in one day, doubled that the following day and trebled the day after.
The musician
Tim Minchin released the song "Come Home (Cardinal Pell)", with all proceeds to go to the GoFundMe campaign. The song described Pell as "scum" and a "coward". Within 24 hours it had over 400,000 views on YouTube and became the number one position on the iTunes song chart in Australia.
In the event, Pell's testimony was witnessed by 15 victims of child sexual abuse and their supporters.
Having sworn on the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, Pell stated that he did not think the problems with child sexual abuse were with the institutional structure of the Catholic Church. "The Church has made enormous mistakes and is working to remedy those", he said. "The Church in many places, certainly in Australia, has mucked things up, has let people down. I'm not here to defend the indefensible."
Counsel assisting the royal commission alleged that there were also wider problems with the church's hierarchy in Australia and Rome and beyond, which they thought he understated or sidestepped.
Regarding the allegations of children, he said that "the predisposition was not to believe" and that the instinct was to protect the church.
He said: "Too many of them certainly were dismissed and sometimes they were dismissed in absolutely scandalous circumstances ... They were very, very, very plausible allegations made by responsible people that were not followed up sufficiently."
Pell also stated that the way Gerald Ridsdale was dealt with was "a catastrophe for the victims and a catastrophe for the church". Referring to rumours of child sexual abuse he added: "in those days", he said, "if a priest denied such activity, I was very strongly inclined to accept the denial".
In June 2016 the Holy See Press Office director
Federico Lombardi
Federico Lombardi, S.J. (born 29 August 1942) is an Italian Catholic priest and the former director of the Holy See Press Office. He succeeded Joaquín Navarro-Valls and was succeeded by Greg Burke.
Lombardi also serves as the postulator for t ...
announced that Pell would continue in his role as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, despite being obliged to submit his resignation on turning 75. Lombardi reminded reporters that Pope Francis had previously expressed his full confidence in Pell, and that Francis wished him to continue as prefect.
Gerald Ridsdale
Pell served as an assistant priest at St Alipius' Church in Ballarat East and, in 1973, shared a house with
Gerald Ridsdale
Gerald Francis Ridsdale (born 20 May 1934) is an Australian laicised Catholic priest and sex offender. He was convicted between 1993 and 2017 of a large number of child sexual abuse and indecent assault charges against 65 children aged as young ...
, a priest who was later laicised and jailed for child sex crimes.
Ridsdale was convicted between 1993 and 2017 of child sexual abuse and
indecent assault
Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault.
England and Wales
Indecent assault was a broa ...
charges against children aged as young as four years during the 1970s and 1980s, with the 79 known victims thought to be a small proportion of his actual total.
Pell was part of a leadership group of priests in the
Diocese of Ballarat who met during 1982 and discussed moving Ridsdale from the parish at and sending him to Sydney. Pell denied knowing about any of Ridsdale's actions. Journalist and former priest
Paul Bongiorno, who also lived in a presbytery with Ridsdale, told ABC radio that Ridsdale concealed his activities: "They hide it. It was certainly hidden from me. And when it came out, after I'd left the priesthood, I was shocked and I was ashamed."
In March 2016, when asked by the royal commission why he had agreed to walk Ridsdale into the courthouse in Melbourne during his 1993 criminal trial, Pell responded, "I had some status as an auxiliary bishop and I was asked to appear with the ambition that this would lessen the term of punishment, lessen his time in jail." Peter Saunders, the victims' advocate and a former Catholic priest, said that this Pell response "demonstrates once again the callousness, the coldheartedness and the contempt that George Pell appears to display for this whole issue and particularly for the victims of these dreadful crimes."
In 2002 on ''
60 Minutes'', Pell was accused by David Ridsdale, a victim of child sex abuse in and the nephew of Gerald Ridsdale, of attempting to bribe him in 1993 in order to prevent child sexual abuse being made public.
The allegation was examined at the royal commission and received further wide publicity. However, Counsel-Assisting Gail Furness conceded in her final submission to the royal commission that, given it was already known to Pell that Gerald Ridsdale was subject to police investigation and that David Ridsdale had requested a "private" rather than police process, "it is not likely that Bishop Pell would then have thought it necessary to offer Mr Ridsdale an inducement to prevent him from going to the police or public with his allegations", and Ridsdale could have "misinterpreted Bishop Pell's offer of assistance".
Commission conclusions
On 7 May 2020, the royal commission revealed its findings regarding Pell, which had been made by 2017 but were withheld while Pell's own sexual abuse case was ongoing.
concluding that Pell knew of child sexual abuse by clergy by the 1970s, but did not take adequate action to address it. Pell responded that the commission's views "are not supported by evidence".
For the case of Gerald Ridsdale, while Pell was a priest in Ballarat, the commission concluded that "in 1973 Father Pell turned his mind to the prudence of Ridsdale taking boys on overnight camps", with child sexual abuse "on his radar, in relation to" Ridsdale. The commission concluded that "by 1973, Cardinal Pell was not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy, but he also considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it".
For the case of Father Peter Searson, while Pell was an auxiliary bishop in Melbourne, the commission concluded that given the information Pell had in 1989, he "should have advised the Archbishop to remove Father Searson and he did not do so". Pell had told the commission that, in 1989, he received a list of grievances about Searson. The list included statements that Searson had harassed children, parents and school staff, used children's toilets without cause, shown children a dead body and practised animal cruelty. The commission concluded that it "ought to have been obvious" to Pell that he needed to have Searson removed, while rejecting Pell's statement that he had been "deceived" regarding Searson's case by education officials. Pell removed Searson in 1997 when he had become the archbishop.
[
For the case of Father Wilfred James Baker, while Pell was the Archbishop of Melbourne, the commission concluded that Pell had the power to remove Baker in August 1996 when he learned that Baker was about to be charged. Pell did not remove Baker then, resulting in Baker continuing as a priest in a parish with a primary school until May 1997.][ Baker was jailed in 1999 for child sexual abuse.]
Allegations of child sexual abuse
2002 allegation
In June 2002, a Melbourne man named Phil Scott accused Pell of sexually abusing him at a Catholic youth camp in 1961, when the accuser was 12 years old and Pell was a young seminarian
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
. Pell denied the accusations and stood aside while the inquiry continued. The complainant agreed to pursue his allegations through the church's own process for dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct, the National Committee for Professional Standards. Retired Victorian Supreme Court Justice Alec Southwell, appointed commissioner by the church to investigate the matter, found that the complainant, despite his long criminal record, had mostly given the impression of speaking honestly from actual recollection but concluded as follows: "bearing in mind the forensic difficulties of the defence occasioned by the very long delay, some valid criticism of the complainant's credibility, the lack of corroborative evidence and the sworn denial of the respondent, I find I am not 'satisfied that the complaint has been established. Pell said he had been exonerated, while the complainant's solicitor said his client had been vindicated.
Victoria Police investigations
In March 2013, Victoria Police launched Operation Tethering to investigate whether Pell had committed unreported crimes. On 20 February 2016, the '' Herald Sun'' newspaper reported that Pell had been under investigation for the past year by detectives from the Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''.
, Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...
SANO Taskforce over sexual abuse allegations involving between five and ten boys that occurred between 1978 and 2001 when he was a priest in Ballarat and when he was archbishop of Melbourne. His office issued a statement denying the allegations, and asked for an inquiry into the leaking of information by Victoria Police officers. Victoria Police remained silent on whether Pell was being investigated. The SANO Taskforce was established in 2012 to investigate allegations arising from the Victorian Government ''Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations'' and the subsequent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
On 28 July 2016, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Graham Ashton
Graham Leonard Ashton (born 1962) is an Australian police officer who was the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police from 2015 to 2020. He also served in the Australian Federal Police for a long period.
Ashton was born in Aldgate, South Austral ...
, confirmed that there was an investigation into alleged child sexual abuse by Pell, and stated he was awaiting advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). On 17 August 2016, Victoria Police said a response had been received from the DPP, but would not disclose the DPP's recommendations.
In October 2016, three Victoria Police officers from the SANO Task Force flew to Rome to interview Pell, who participated voluntarily, regarding allegations of sexual assault. In February 2017, Victoria Police advised that the brief of evidence against Pell had been returned to the Office of Public Prosecutions. That Office subsequently provided advice to Victoria Police in May 2017.
Trial, conviction, and acquittal
Initial charges and hearings
On 29 June 2017, Victoria Police announced they were charging Pell with a series of sexual assault offences with several counts and several victims. At a press conference in Rome, Pell denied the allegations. Pell left the Vatican in July and voluntarily returned to Australia to face trial. Details of the charges were not made public.
On 26 July 2017 Pell appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court
The Melbourne Magistrates' Court is the largest venue at which the Magistrates' Court of Victoria sits. It is a court in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that deals with, and dispenses of, a range of criminal and civil matters, including crimin ...
and entered a plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...
of not guilty. He was represented by barrister Robert Richter. An application by the media seeking public disclosure of the details of the charges was refused by the magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
. At a procedural hearing in November Pell’s lawyers requested documents from ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
journalist Louise Milligan and Melbourne University Press relating to Milligan's book ''Cardinal: the Rise and Fall of George Pell'' which was published in early 2017.
In January 2018, accuser Damian Dignan died after a long illness. Dignan’s charge was withdrawn. Pell's lawyers requested but were denied the personal medical information of the complainants. Pell's defence was reported to be based on questioning the timing of allegations. Some other charges were dropped after a complainant was ruled medically unfit to give evidence.
The committal hearing
In law, a committal procedure is the process by which a defendant is charged with a serious offence under the criminal justice systems of all common law jurisdictions except the United States. The committal procedure, sometimes known as a prelim ...
to determine whether there was enough evidence to commit Pell to stand trial commenced on 5 March 2018. The hearing allowed for approximately fifty witnesses to give evidence, including former choirboys. The magistrate allowed Pell's barrister to cross-examine all but five witnesses. Pell's barrister said the allegations involving St Patrick's Cathedral were impossible.
Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
Belinda Wallington concluded that there was enough evidence for the case to proceed on about half of the charges. On 1 May 2018, Pell was committed to stand trial on several charges of sexual offending. Pell entered pleas of not guilty. As a bail condition, Pell was not permitted to leave Australia.
On 2 May 2018, Pell appeared in the County Court of Victoria
The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states.
The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and civ ...
for a directions hearing before Judge Sue Pullen, and it was agreed that he would undergo two separate trials with two separate juries and that the charges would be heard separately for each trial. He was to be tried in relation to allegations of sexual offences taking place at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of Saint Patrick (colloquially St Patrick's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Peter Comensoli.
...
, in 1990 in the first case (the cathedral trial), and in relation to further allegations taking place at a Ballarat swimming pool in the 1970s in the second case (the swimmers trial). Prosecutors sought a media ban on reporting on the trials until the verdict in the second trial. A suppression order was subsequently issued by Chief Judge Peter Kidd
Peter Barrington Kidd SC (born 4 October 1965) is an Australian jurist. He has served as Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria since 8 September 2015, and as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria since 24 May 2016.
As chief judge o ...
on 25 June 2018.[Suppression order:
*
*
] The purpose of the order was to prevent prejudice to Pell caused by jurors in the swimmers trial knowing the outcome of the cathedral trial.
Cathedral trial
Pell's first trial for the allegations of misconduct in St Patrick's Cathedral began in August 2018 under Chief Judge Kidd with representation by Robert Richter (lawyer). Pell's lawyers released a statement that Pell maintained his innocence, and advised that an appeal had been filed on three grounds.[
The sentencing hearing] on 13 March 2019 was broadcast live to the public, with Chief Judge Kidd sentencing Pell to serve six years in jail with a non-parole period of three years and eight months. Pell was also registered as a sex offender. Pell served 404 days in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, before being acquitted.
Breach of suppression order by media
In the Supreme Court on 26 March 2019, Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions named 36 media outlets, journalists and broadcasters and applied that they be found guilty, convicted and either imprisoned or fined for breaching the suppression order. International media did not face charges.
Appeal
The Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria heard pleadings for Pell being granted leave to appeal simultaneously with the appeal itself in June 2019. Pell was represented by Bret Walker SC. Three grounds of appeal were lodged: that the verdict was unreasonable, that permission to use in their closing address a visual aid prepared by the defence that illustrated the locations of people within the cathedral around the time of the first assault had been refused, and that Pell had not been arraigned in the presence of the jury as is required under standard criminal procedures in Victoria. Judgment was reserved, without setting a date to deliver the decision.
On 21 August 2019, the Court of Appeal issued its ruling, which upheld the convictions.[VCA dismissal:
*
*
*
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*] The three-judge panel comprised Chief Justice Anne Ferguson, President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Chris Maxwell and Justice Mark Weinberg. On the first ground of appeal, that the verdict was unreasonable, the court granted leave to appeal but dismissed the appeal by a majority (2–1) decision. Chief Justice Ferguson and President Maxwell dismissed the appeal. Ferguson stated that, for the appeal to succeed, the court needed to find that the jury ''must'' have had doubt as to the defendant's guilt, not merely that they ''could'' have had doubt. Justice Weinberg issued a dissenting judgment and would have allowed the appeal on the first ground.
Whilst Chief Justice Ferguson and President Maxwell stated that they did not experience a doubt in the case, the dissenting Judge, Mark Weinberg, likened the case to that of Lindy Chamberlain
Alice Lynne "Lindy" Chamberlain-Creighton (née Murchison; born 4 March 1948) is a New Zealand–born Australian woman who was wrongfully convicted in one of Australia's most publicised murder trials. Accused of killing her nine-week-old daught ...
, which had seen wrongful conviction by a jury and appeal court based on faulty evidence. Weinberg wrote that the applicant should be acquitted on each charge.
The court unanimously refused leave to appeal on the second and third grounds.
Acquittal
In September 2019, Pell sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia, the final court of appeal in Australia. Pell's lawyers submitted that Pell's conviction should be overturned on the basis that, in the face of exculpatory evidence, the Court of Appeal had relied on their belief in the complainant to eliminate doubt and uphold the conviction. The prosecution submission asserted that the appeal judgement had glossed over evidence that supported his conviction. The appeal was heard on 11 and 12 March 2020 by a full bench of seven justices.
On 7 April 2020, in a unanimous judgment, the High Court allowed the appeal, quashing Pell's convictions and determining that judgments of acquittal be entered in their place. The court found that the jury ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant's guilt. The court agreed with Weinberg's judgment in the Court of Appeal, finding that the majority might have effectively reversed the burden of proof. In their judgment, the judges said with respect to all five charges that, "Making full allowance for the advantages enjoyed by the jury, there is a significant possibility ... that an innocent person has been convicted."
Reactions after acquittal
Pell's Criticism of ABC coverage
Following Pell's acquittal, prior media coverage of his case came under intense scrutiny. Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC), was accused of sustained bias against Pell both before and during the trial and appeals. Pell said the ABC had betrayed the national interest in overwhelmingly presenting a single view of the case, and that he was a target because of his socially conservative views.
The ABC dismissed criticisms of its coverage and defended its pursuit of Pell as having been without fear or favour. After criticism that its documentary series ''Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' (which presented Pell as guilty) had been timed to coincide with the High Court decision, the ABC denied rushing the program, but temporarily removed it from its digital platform to allow the producers to include reference to Pell's acquittal and subsequent release from Barwon Prison
HM Prison Barwon or informally Barwon Prison, an Australian high risk and maximum security prison for males, is located from the township of Lara, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria, part of ...
. The series was restored to ABC's digital platform and went on to win the Walkley Documentary Award. The ABC noted that ''Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' had actually been pushed back several days due to Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...
making a televised address to the nation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.
Criticism of Victorian criminal justice system
Criticism of the conduct of Victoria Police, the DPP and the Court of Appeal judges resulted from the High Court verdict. Keith Windschuttle
Keith Windschuttle (born 1942) is an Australian historian and former board member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
He was editor of '' Quadrant'' from 2007 to 2015 when he became chair of the board and editor-in-chief. He was the pub ...
published a book, ''The Persecution of George Pell'', arguing that Pell had faced a concerted campaign by Victorian police, judiciary and victims' advocates to convict him on flimsy evidence.
Media charges
In January 2021 the Supreme Court of Victoria heard charges against 27 media companies, reporters and editors with offences, mainly contempt of court, for their coverage of the Pell verdict by breaching the suppression order and the subjudice ruleeven though no outlet had named Pell in their coverage, but rather had published protests at the suppression order. Twelve media companiesincluding the ''Herald Sun'', the ''Courier Mail'', the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Age'' (which was fined $450,000), News Corp Australia (which was fined $400,000), and Nine Entertainment Co. (whose other newspapers were fined $162,000)pleaded guilty to contempt of court and apologised. The companies were to receive fines and would pay $650,000 of the state's legal costs. In exchange for these guilty pleas, 15 charges against individual journalists were dropped.
Justice John Dixon found that the 12 organisations had usurped the role of the court; they had taken it upon themselves to determine where the balance ought to lie between Pell’s right to a fair trial and the public’s right to know. He did not accept their submission that their breach of the suppression order was an honest mistake. Rather, he found, in most cases the reporting demonstrated that the organisations disagreed with the suppression order and felt the media should not be restrained from reporting the outcome of the trial. Although media overseas had reported Pell's conviction, he thought that potential jury members for the second trial were likely to rely upon local media rather than an internet search and, in any case, overseas reporting did not affect the seriousness of Australian media's breach of the suppression order.
Father's case
The father of a schoolboy who was allegedly abused by Pell launched legal action in 2022 against Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. In August of that year, the case was allowed to proceed.
Writings
Pell has written widely in religious and secular magazines, including learned journals and newspapers in Australia and overseas. He regularly spoke on television and radio. His other publications include ''The Sisters of St Joseph in Swan Hill 1922–72'' (1972), ''Catholicism in Australia'' (1988), ''Rerum Novarum – One Hundred Years Later'' (1992), ''Catholicism and the Architecture of Freedom''.
*
*
*
* For senior secondary classes and parish groups.
*
* A collection of homilies and reflections.
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*
Distinctions
Orders
* :
Knight Grand Cross (2001) Grand Prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be lowe ...
of the New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Lieutenancy of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
(2001-2013), Grand Prior of the Australian Lieutenancy – Southern of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
(1998–2001)
* :
Companion of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(2005) for service to the Catholic Church in Australia
The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Holy See. From origins as a suppressed, mainly Irish minority in early colonial times, the church has grown ...
and internationally, to raising debate on matters of an ethical and spiritual nature, to education and social justice.
Awards
* :
Centenary Medal (2001) for service to Australian society through the Catholic Church.
Other
*
Ecclesiastical Grand Cross
Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...
and Ecclesiastical Grand Cross of Merit of the ''Malta-Paris obedience'' of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) (2003) for longstanding commitment to ecumenism, and service as National Chaplain (2001).
See also
* Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Victoria
The Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Victoria is part of the Catholic clerical sexual abuse in Australia and the much wider Catholic sexual abuse scandal in general, which involves charges, convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into al ...
* St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians (colloquially, St Mary's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, curre ...
References
Notes
Citations
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, George
1941 births
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