Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Catholic official from Australia, passed away in Rome at 81 after complications following hip replacement surgery.
George pell, one of the most influential advisers to Pope Francis and one of the most influential individuals in the Vatican, drew criticism for the way he handled claims of child sex abuse within the church. He was imprisoned on old charges, and his sentence was later overturned.
Pell, the highest-ranking Catholic figure to be imprisoned due to claims of child sex abuse, consistently insisted that he was innocent. Nevertheless, he spent more than a year in prison before the High Court overturned the ruling in 2020.
What happened to George Pell?
Pell passed away from heart issues following hip surgery, according to Peter Comensoli, the archbishop of Melbourne. He stated, “With great grief, the news is out that Cardinal George Pell passed just a few hours ago from heart issues resulting from hip surgery.
“May he now have eternal light, who so firmly believed in the God of Jesus Christ” His passing occurred a few days after he had attended the former pope Benedict XVI’s burial in the Vatican?
George pell’s Cause of death
At 81 years old, Pell passed away on January 10, 2023, after a heart arrest at the Salvator Mundi hospital in Rome. Following his funeral at the Vatican, arrangements were made to return Pell’s remained to Australia and interred at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.
Over the years, he has experienced several health problems. After the procedure, he reportedly talked to the anaesthetist in the hospital when he unexpectedly suffered a heart attack.
George pell’s Previous Illness
Pell experienced heart problems in January 2010 while touring the Vatican, and a pacemaker was inserted into his chest in a Rome hospital in February. In 2015, he could not travel from Italy to Australia because, according to his physicians, his heart condition was too bad for him to testify before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
He was expected to be in good enough shape to travel in February 2016. Pell’s counsel submitted a two-page medical evaluation, but panel chair Justice Peter McClellan refused to let him appear in person based on that information. From a hotel in Rome, he delivered his testimony via video link. He had knee surgery in December of the previous year. He had recovered sufficiently by June 2019 to use a cane no longer.
When he was taken into custody in February 2019 after being found guilty, an evaluation of his mental and physical health concluded that he was fit to be held in HM Melbourne Assessment Prison.
George pell’s early career
Pell served in Swan Hill, Ballarat, and Melbourne throughout his formative years as a priest. During his time in 1973 at the St. Alipius presbytery in Ballarat East, he came into contact with Gerald Ridsdale, a well-known child molester.
That former Catholic priest is still behind bars for the three-decades-long sexual assaults on more than 71 minors. The most current allegations against Ridsdale were made public in October 2022 after he pleaded guilty to 13 additional crimes related to the attack of two boys in 1981 and 1982.
For crimes done over a long period, he has completed serving 39 years of his total sentence. Pell repeatedly rejected Ridsdale’s abuse of children in the 1970s.
Social Issues
Before being involved in numerous legal proceedings due to sexual assault allegations, Cardinal George Pell went from a rural Victoria upbringing to one of the most prominent Catholic clerics worldwide.
After the High Court unanimously overturned Pell’s conviction for child sex charges in April 2020, Pell, a controversial figure, spent the latter years of his life residing in the Archdiocese of Sydney, which he had presided over as the Archbishop of Sydney.
Despite being found guilty on December 11 by a jury of the 1996 rape of a 13-year-old choirboy and the sexual abuse of another at St. Patrick’s Cathedral while he was the Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric had always maintained his innocence.
He had been given a minimum term of three years and eight months, and a maximum of six years. After the High Court overturned the conviction in 2020, he was allowed to leave prison.
Australia reacts on Social Media
According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Cardinal George Pell’s untimely death is a “sad day” for many Australians, particularly those who practise the Catholic faith. Albanese added, “This will be a painful day for many individuals, particularly those of the Catholic religion, and I extend my condolences to all those who are mourning today.
“This will surprise a lot of people — this was a hip procedure, and tragically, the results were that Cardinal Pell passed away.”
The announcement of Pell’s passing was a “huge shock,” according to Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher. He asked for prayers for Cardinal Pell’s soul to rest in peace, as well as for his family, his loved ones, and all those who are mourning his passing right now.
The parish will commend Cardinal Pell’s soul to God and his loving judgement, according to Father Edward Moloney, the cathedral’s administrator at Ballarat’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Cardinal Pell served as a priest.
Father Moloney says, “We pray in appreciation for all the good he done.” The scriptures remind us that praying for the deceased is a good and holy deed, as is the case with all our folks who pass away.
According to the late former prime minister Tony Abbot, the cardinal was “a devoted defender of Catholic doctrine and a vigorous advocate for the qualities of Western civilisation.”
With the loss of George Pell, he observed, “Australia has lost a wonderful son and the church has lost a great leader.”
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