Australian and global leaders have reacted to the death of Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic church official, Cardinal George Pell.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his condolences to “all who are mourning today”.
“For many people, particularly of the Catholic faith, this will be a difficult day and I express my condolences to all those who are mourning today,” Albanese said.
“This was a hip operation and the consequences of it unfortunately have been that Cardinal Pell has lost his life, and I’ll express my condolences to all those who will be mourning today.”
Albanese said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing assistance to assure the cardinal’s body is brought back to Australia.
“I discussed with Archbishop (Anthony) Fisher this morning, I expressed my condolences to Archbishop Fisher on behalf of the government,” he said.
“Archbishop Fisher informed me that there will be a service held in the Vatican in coming days but then there will be a service at St Mary’s Cathedral at sometime in the future.”
Former prime minister Tony Abbott said Australia “has lost a great son and the church has lost a great leader”.
“Like everyone who knew him I feel a deep sense of loss but am confident that his reputation will grow and grow and that he will become an inspiration for the ages,” Abbott said.
Former Coalition minister Joe Hockey also paid tribute to the cardinal.
“He was a man of deep faith and great integrity,” he said.
“He was blessed with fortitude, courage, determination and intellect. He was proudly Australian.”
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Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher expressed sadness and said the news came as a “great shock”.
“Please pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Pell, for comfort and consolation for his family and for all of those who loved him and are grieving him at this time,” he said in a Facebook post.
Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli described Pell as a “very significant and influential church leader”.
“At this immediate moment, let our prayers go out to the God of Jesus Christ, whom Cardinal Pell wholeheartedly believed in and followed, that he may be welcomed into eternal life,” Comensoli said.
“Our prayers of comfort and condolence are also with his family, especially his only surviving sibling David Pell.”
In his life, the cardinal faced criticism for his response to child sexual abuse allegations within the church and was himself convicted of one charge of sexual penetration of a child and four charges of committing an act of indecency.
Pell always maintained his innocence but spent more than a year in jail before the High Court overturned the decision in 2020.
Shine Lawyers chief legal officer Lisa Flynn said the law firm is progressing with a civil claim behalf of the ”father of a former altar boy who alleged he was sexually abused by George Pell”.
“The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is also listed as a defendant in this matter,” Flynn said.
“The claim will continue against the church and whatever estate Pell has left behind.
“A civil trial likely would have provided the opportunity to cross examine Pell, and truly test his defence against these allegations.
“There is still a great deal of evidence for this claim to rely on, and the court will be asked in due course to make its ruling on that evidence.”
Victorian government minister Steve Dimopoulos acknowledged today would be particularly challenging for some people.
“Today would be a very difficult day for the cardinal’s family and loved ones but also a very difficult for survivors and victims of child sexual abuse and their families and my thoughts are with them,” he said.
