George Pell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Pell in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Church | Catholic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appointed | 24 February 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Term ended | 24 February 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other post(s) | Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello (2003–2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ordination | 16 December 1966 by Gregorio Pietro Agagianian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consecration | 21 May 1987 by Frank Little | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created cardinal | 21 October 2003 by John Paul II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Cardinal priest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 June 1941 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 10 January 2023 (aged 81) Rome, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buried | St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motto | Nolite timere (Latin for 'Be not afraid') | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coat of arms |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ordination history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Styles of George Pell | |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
George Pell AC (8 June 1941 – 10 January 2023) was an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers 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 (1987–1996). He was also an author and columnist. From 1996, Pell maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining an adherence to Catholic orthodoxy.
Pell worked as a priest in rural Victoria and in Melbourne and also chaired the aid organisation Caritas Australia (part of Caritas Internationalis) from 1988 to 1997. He was appointed 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 (AC) in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours.[1] 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 in the archdiocese.[2][3] The protocol was the first of its kind in the world and was subjected to a variety of criticisms.[2]
In 2018, Pell was convicted of child sexual abuse, but on appeal, the convictions were quashed, and Pell acquitted, in 2020 by the High Court of Australia in the decision Pell v The Queen.[4] A separate investigation by the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith into these allegations of abuse concluded upon his acquittal by the High Court.[5]
According to findings released by Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2020, Pell 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".[6]
- ^ "The Queen's Birthday 2005 Honours: The Governor-General is pleased to announce the following appointments and awards". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National : 1977 - 2012). 13 June 2005. p. 1. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ a b Catholic Church Victoria (21 September 2012). Facing the Truth – Learning from the Past – How the Catholic Church in Victoria has Responded to Child Abuse (submission to Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations) (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ Family and Community Development Committee (2013). Betrayal of trust: inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations (Volume 2) (PDF). East Melbourne, Victoria: Parliament of Victoria. ISBN 9780987372857.
- ^ Posthumous sources:
- "Controversial Catholic cleric Pell dies aged 81". BBC News. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
But the cleric left his post in 2017, returning to Australia to face trial on child sex abuse charges. A jury in 2018 found he had abused two boys while Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. Cardinal Pell, who always maintained his innocence, spent 13 months in prison before the High Court of Australia quashed the verdict in 2020.
- McGuirk, Rod; Winfield, Nicole; Perry, Nick (11 January 2023). "Cardinal Pell, whose convictions were overturned, dies at 81". Associated Press. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
... spent 404 days in solitary confinement in his native Australia on child sex abuse charges before his convictions were overturned
- Pal, Alasdair; Feast, Lincoln (11 January 2023). "Reaction to the death of Australian Cardinal George Pell". Reuters. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
George Pell, a leading Roman Catholic conservative and former top Vatican official who in 2020 was acquitted of child sexual abuse allegations.
- "Cardinal Pell: a divisive figure cleared of sexual abuse". France 24. Agence France Presse. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
... leaves a legacy forever marked by a paedophilia conviction that was later overturned. .... served 12 months in jail before a court quashed his conviction on five counts of sexually abusing 13-year-old choirboys in the 1990s.
- "Cardinal George Pell dies in Rome aged 81 after hip surgery". ABC News Australia. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
... was jailed in Australia for child sexual abuse in 2019 but vigorously maintained his innocence and had his convictions quashed more than a year later.
- "Controversial Catholic cleric Pell dies aged 81". BBC News. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ Collett, Michael (18 September 2019). "The Catholic Church has its own secret investigation into Pell. Here's who is running it". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Cardinal Pell-2020was invoked but never defined (see the help page).