Australian Cardinal George Pell is dead. Pell, who was 81, died in Rome, Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said on his Facebook page Wednesday night.
The archdiocese confirmed the authenticity of the message to the German press agency. As finance director under Pope Francis, Pell was number three in the Vatican for many years and the highest-ranking minister in the history of the Catholic Church to be convicted of child abuse. However, in 2020, Pell was acquitted on appeal after serving approximately 13 months and released from prison.
According to media reports citing Pell’s private secretary, the cardinal died in the Italian capital on Tuesday evening after undergoing routine surgery.
allegations of abuse
Francis appointed Pell as Prefect of the Economic Secretariat in 2014 to help strengthen the Vatican’s finances. Pell made a career in the Catholic Church despite allegations of abuse against him many years before trial. The specific case dates back to 1996/97. Pell had then just become Archbishop of Melbourne.
Pell was born on June 8, 1941 in Ballarat, Australia. He was ordained a priest in 1966 and elected Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 1987. He received episcopal ordination in the same year.
Archbishop Fisher wrote on Facebook that the news of Pell’s death “comes with great shock to all of us”. He asked for prayers for the deceased. (SDA)