George Pell heavily criticised Daniel Andrews in a fiery speech a few months ago – and the Victorian Premier has now revealed that he won’t give the divisive Catholic a state funeral.
The Vatican on Wednesday revealed the Cardinal had died at the age of 81, after suffering heart complications following a hip replacement surgery in Rome.
And on Thursday, Mr Andrews was quick to rule out a state memorial service, saying he couldn’t think of anything ‘more distressing for victim survivors than that’.
In one of his last speeches in Australia, the Cardinal criticised Mr Andrews’ administration and compared it to Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s corrupt government in 1980s Queensland.
The Vatican on Wednesday revealed the Cardinal George Pell had died at the age of 81, after suffering heart complications following a hip replacement surgery in Rome
Mr Andrews was quick to rule out a state memorial service, saying he couldn’t think of anything ‘more distressing for victim survivors than that’
In an address to Sydney-based Catholic liberal arts college Campion in August, Cardinal Pell lashed out at ‘bossy nanny states’ who ‘overreacted’ during the pandemic and closed churches before casinos.
He also criticised the rise of identity politics and cancel culture before suggesting that times were changing ‘and not always for the better’.
Cardinal Pell said: ‘I don’t think Australian life is rotten at the core, but times are changing, and not always for the better.
‘The inevitable royal commission of the future into Victoria could find a situation parallel to that of Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s Queensland in the 1970s-80s. Too many Australians were content with the overreaction of bossy nanny states during the Covid crisis, when the churches were closed before the casino.’
Following his death, Mr Andrews said there would be no taxpayer-funded memorial and that he would not be attending the Cardinal’s funeral at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.
He said: ‘ ‘I couldn’t think of anything more distressing for victim survivors.
‘These things are usually offered and there will be no offer made.
‘I think that would be a deeply, deeply distressing thing for every survivor of Catholic Church child sex abuse.
‘That is my view. And I will not do that.’
Cardinal Pell was accused of molesting two choir boys in the late 1990s when he was Archbishop of Melbourne.
He served 13 months in prison, before being acquitted in 2020 after the High Court quashed his convictions for child sexual assault.
Friends of Cardinal Pell have hit out at Mr Andrews following his comments.
Greg Craven, emeritus professor of law and former vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, told the Australian: ‘I think Daniel Andrews is an insult in search of a target.
‘So far as I know, no one wanted a state funeral, no one asked for a state funeral, and I for one would hope that he wouldn’t have been invited to a state funeral.’
Referring to Cardinal Pell’s acquittal, he added: ‘Premier Andrews is always telling us what he respects, but apparently it doesn’t include the rule of law.’
NSW Premier and fellow Catholic Dominic Perrottet has also ruled out taxpayer funding from his state for the funeral.
He said: ‘No. There will be a memorial service, which will be held and that is arranged by the archdiocese and I just want to say to the cardinal’s family, our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.’
