THE SQUIZ
Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, has died in Italy at 81yo. Melbourne’s Archbishop Peter Comensoli yesterday confirmed the news, saying Pell died from “heart complications following hip surgery” less than a week after he attended the funeral of former Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. Put simply, Pell was a polarising figure as the leader of the church that counts 20% of Australians as followers. 

WHY IS HE SO NOTABLE?
Where do you start? Yesterday, Pell was remembered by senior Catholics as Australia’s most prominent ever churchman following his rise in 2014 to become the 3rd highest-ranking official in the Vatican as its treasurer under Pope Francis. That came to an end when he became the most senior Catholic in the world to be charged (in 2017) and convicted (in 2018) on historical child abuse offences. Pell always maintained his innocence, and in April 2020, the High Court unanimously overturned his conviction. Later that year, Pell returned to Rome, where he spent his remaining years. Going back to the start, Pell was born in Ballarat, Victoria and was a talented Aussie Rules football player who had an opportunity to play at the top level. To cover off the big points on his CV, Pell was also Archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney and was selected by Pope John Paul II to join the College of Cardinals (the small group that advises the Pope) in 2003. 

WHAT’S NEXT?
For now, a lot of people have a lot to say about Pell, his life, and his legacy. PM Anthony Albanese (a non-practising Catholic) passed on the government’s condolences to those who knew Pell well. And former PM/former trainee Catholic priest Tony Abbott praised Pell as “a saint for our times”. Others, like the Australian Catholic University’s Miles Pattenden, said while Pell had many admirers, others would “wish that he’d been called to account in a fuller way for some of his decisions” when he was an Archbishop in Oz. Meanwhile, lawyers who have gone up against the Catholic Church in recent times were more blunt… Michael Magazanik said he was troubled by the “outpouring of love for a man who at the very least turned a blind eye to massive child abuse”. As for the coming days, reports say services will be held for Pell in Rome and at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, where he will be buried.