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Vatican holds funeral for Cardinal Pell

January 14, 2023

The Australian-born cardinal died at age 81. He was imprisoned in 2019 for sexually abusing two 13-year-old boys, a conviction that was later overturned. The cardinal was critical of Francis' papacy.

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Italian Cardinal Battista Re speaks at George Pell's funeral; he is wearing a red robe and skullcap
The Vatican held a funeral for Cardinal George Pell on SaturdayImage: Alessandro Sardo/Vatican Media Press Office/ANSA/picture alliance

The Vatican held a funeral on Saturday for Cardinal George Pell.

The Australian-born cardinal died on January 10 at age 81 due to heart complications shortly after undergoing hip surgery.

Church officials said his body will be buried in the crypt of St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, Australia.

The Mass was celebrated by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who praised Pell as a "man of God and a man of the Church."

"As he noted many times, he was pained by the weakening of faith in the Western world and the moral crisis of the family,'' Re said.

Pell's final years were "marked by an unjust and painful conviction," the cardinal said.

Pope Francis arrived in a wheelchair for the last few minutes of the ceremony.

Who was Cardinal Pell?

Pell was the Vatican's finance minister for three years. He was seen as a confidant of Pope Francis and the third most important figure in the church.

Pell was imprisoned in 2019 after being convicted of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in the 1990s.

Twelve months later, the Australian High Court overturned Pell's conviction following a successful appeal.

After Pell's death, it was revealed that the cardinal was the author of a memo that called Francis' papacy a "disaster" and a "catastrophe."

On Thursday, Daniel Andrews, Premier of Pell's home state of Victoria, said: "We will never ever forget victim-survivors of institutional child sexual abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church." He ruled out a state-funded memorial for the cardinal, saying it would be "deeply distressing" for sexual abuse survivors.

sdi/sms (AP, dpa)