High-profile Australians react to George Pell’s death

High-profile Australians have mixed reactions to the death of controversial Cardinal George Pell, who was at the centre of child sex abuse allegations for two decades – and it’s not all tributes and tears.

Cardinal Pell, 81, underwent a successful surgery in a Vatican hospital and was chatting with the anaesthetist when he went into sudden cardiac arrest. Medics were unable to revive him.

He was ordained a priest in 1966 and became a bishop in 1987, and was appointed Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996 and Archbishop of Sydney in 2001 before was made a cardinal in 2003.

However, his lengthy career came under a cloud in 2018 when a jury convicted him of historic child sex incidents – which he strenuously denied. Pell spent 404 days behind bars.  

His conviction was quashed on appeal to the High Court in 2020. 

But despite the legal ruling, many prominent Australians still believed the allegations against him. 

Australians flooded social media following the shock announcement of his death on Tuesday morning – some remembered him as a ‘man of great integrity’, while others paid tribute to child sexual assault survivors.

Award-winning journalist Suzie Smith, who wrote The Altar Boys – a book about child sex abuse allegations within the Catholic church – tweeted: ‘Thinking of the victims and their families who were treated so appallingly by this man and his lieutenants over many decades.’

ABC journalist Louise Miligan, who wrote ‘Cardinal – The Rise and Fall of George Pell’, wrote on Twitter: ‘George Pell is dead. This will be a very triggering day for a lot of people. Thinking of them.’

Sexual assault survivor advocate Nina Funnell said: ‘George Pell is dead. Today I remember every victim and survivor of child sexual abuse who was harmed by him and every paedophile he covered for.

‘Today I remember all those victims who are no longer with us. And I stand with all those survivors who still are.’

Others speculated about what his ‘journey to hell’ might look like.

But others took a somber approach, choosing to remember Cardinal Pell for his lengthy career and contributions to public life. 

Former treasurer Joe Hockey said: ‘I am immensely saddened to hear of the unexpected death of Cardinal George Pell. He was a man of deep faith and great integrity. He was blessed with fortitude, courage, determination and intellect. He was proudly Australian.’

Father Edward Moloney, the administrator of Ballarat’s St Patrick’s Cathedral where Cardinal Pell served as a priest, said the parish would commend his soul to God and his merciful judgment.

‘We pray in thanksgiving for all the good that he did,’ Father Moloney told AAP.

‘As with all our people who die, we remember the words of the scriptures – it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.’

It would be a very difficult day for Cardinal Pell’s family and loved ones, Victorian government minister Steve Dimopoulos said.

‘But also a very difficult day for survivors and victims of child sexual abuse and their families, and my thoughts are with them,’ Mr Dimopoulos told reporters on Wednesday.

The news of the cardinal’s death is slowly filtering through internationally, with the director of Texas San Angelo Diocese sending his prayers.

‘I was graced to hear (Cardinal Pell) speak at the Sacra Liturgia Conference this summer,’ Father Ryan Rojo tweeted on Wednesday morning.

‘A true inspiration without an ounce of bitterness, despite his having every reason to lean into anger.’