View source for George Pell

{{Short description|Australian Catholic cardinal (1941–2023)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| honorific-prefix = [[His Eminence]]
| type = Cardinal
| name = George Pell
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS-cats|AC|size=100%}}
| title = {{plainlist|
* [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]]
* Prefect of the [[Secretariat for the Economy]]
}}
| image = George Pell-2012.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Pell in 2012
| church = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]
| appointed = 24 February 2014
| term_end = 24 February 2019
| predecessor = 
| successor = [[Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves]]
| other_post = Cardinal Priest of [[Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello, Rome|Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello]] (2003{{nbnd}}2023)
| ordination = 16 December 1966
| ordained_by = [[Gregorio Pietro Agagianian]]
| consecration = 21 May 1987
| consecrated_by = [[Frank Little (bishop)|Frank Little]]
| cardinal = 21 October 2003
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]]
| rank = [[Cardinal priest]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1941|6|8|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Ballarat]], Victoria, Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|1|10|1941|6|8|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Rome]], Italy
| previous_post = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Scala|Titular Bishop of Scala]] (1987{{nbnd}}1996)
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne|Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne]] (1987{{nbnd}}1996)
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne|Archbishop of Melbourne]] (1996{{nbnd}}2001)
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney|Archbishop of Sydney]] (2001{{nbnd}}2014)
* Member of the [[Council of Cardinal Advisers]] (2013{{nbnd}}2018)
* Prefect of the [[Secretariat for the Economy]] (2014{{nbnd}}2019)
}}
| education = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Corpus Christi College, Melbourne]]
* [[Pontifical Urban University]]
* [[Campion Hall, Oxford]]
* [[Monash University]]
}}
| signature = George Pell's Signature.svg
| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of George Pell.svg
| motto = {{langnf|la|Nolite timere|Be not afraid|break=yes}}
| module = {{Ordination
| denomination = Roman Catholic
| embed = yes
| ordained deacon by = 
| date of diaconal ordination = 
| place of diaconal ordination = 
| ordained priest by = Gregorio Pietro Agagianian
| date of priestly ordination = 16 December 1966
| place of priestly ordination = [[St. Peter's Basilica]], Vatican&nbsp;City
| consecrated by = Frank Little ([[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne|Melbourne]])
| co-consecrators = {{Plainlist|
* [[Ronald Mulkearns]] ([[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat|Ballarat]])
* [[Joseph O'Connell (bishop)|Joseph O'Connell]] (Melbourne aux.)
}}
| date of consecration = 21 May 1987
| place of consecration = [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne]]
| elevated by = Pope John Paul II
| date of elevation = 21 October 2003
| bishop 1        = [[Denis Hart]]
| consecration date 1  = 	9 December 1997
| bishop 2        = [[Joseph Grech]]
| consecration date 2  = 	10 February 1999
| bishop 3        = {{ill|nobold=1|v=ib|Christopher Toohey|it|Christopher Toohey}}
| consecration date 3  = 	30 August 2001
| bishop 4        = [[Julian Porteous]]
| consecration date 4  = 	3 September 2003
| bishop 5        = [[Anthony Fisher]]
| consecration date 5  = 	3 September 2003
| bishop 6        = [[Terence Brady (bishop)|Terence Brady]]
| consecration date 6  = 	16 November 2007
| bishop 7        = [[Michael McKenna (bishop)|Michael McKenna]]
| consecration date 7  = 	26 June 2009
| bishop 8        = [[Peter Comensoli]]
| consecration date 8  = 	8 June 2011
| bishop 9        = [[William Wright (Australian bishop)|William Wright]]
| consecration date 9  = 	15 June 2011
| sources = 
}}
| buried = [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]]
}}
{{Infobox cardinal styles
|name                = George Pell
|image               = Coat of arms of George Pell.svg
|image_size          = 200px
|dipstyle            = [[His Eminence]]
|offstyle            = [[His Eminence|Your Eminence]]
|relstyle            = [[Cardinal (Catholic)|Cardinal]]
|deathstyle          = 
}}

'''George Pell''' (8 June 1941 – 10 January 2023) was an Australian [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal]] of the [[Catholic Church]]. From 2002, he faced recurring accusations of sexual abuse. A subsequent sexual abuse conviction was quashed on appeal to the High Court of Australia.

Pell served as the inaugural [[prefect]] of the [[Secretariat for the Economy]] at the [[Holy See|Vatican]] from 2014 to 2019 and a member of the [[Council of Cardinal Advisers]] from 2013 to 2018. Ordained a priest in 1966 and bishop in 1987, he was made a cardinal in 2003. Pell served as the eighth [[Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of Sydney|Archbishop of Sydney]] (2001–2014), the seventh [[Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne|Archbishop of Melbourne]] (1996–2001) and an [[auxiliary bishop]] of [[Melbourne]] (1987–1996). He was also an author and columnist. A conservative, Pell maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining an adherence to [[Catholic orthodoxy]].

Pell worked as a [[Priest (Catholic)|priest]] in rural [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and in Melbourne and also chaired the aid organisation [[Caritas Australia]] (part of [[Caritas Internationalis]]) from 1988 to 1997. He was appointed a delegate to the [[Australian Constitutional Convention 1998|Australian Constitutional Convention in 1998]], received the [[Centenary Medal]] from the Australian government in 2003 and was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of Australia]] (AC) in the [[2005 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)|2005 Queen's Birthday Honours]]. During his tenure as Archbishop of Melbourne, Pell set up the "Melbourne Response" protocol in 1996 to investigate and deal with complaints of [[child sexual abuse]] in the [[Diocese|archdiocese]]. The protocol was the first of its kind in the world and was subjected to a variety of criticism.<ref name="Catholic Church Victoria-2012">{{Cite report |url=https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/Catholic_Church_in_Victoria.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418112943/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/Catholic_Church_in_Victoria.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2013 |title=Facing the Truth – Learning from the Past – How the Catholic Church in Victoria has Responded to Child Abuse (submission to Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations) |last=Catholic Church Victoria |date=21 September 2012 |access-date=6 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Family and Community Development Committee |url=https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Report/Inquiry_into_Handling_of_Abuse_Volume_2_FINAL_web.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027093114/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Report/Inquiry_into_Handling_of_Abuse_Volume_2_FINAL_web.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 October 2015 |title=Betrayal of trust: inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations (Volume 2) |date=2013 |publisher=Parliament of Victoria |isbn=9780987372857 |location=East Melbourne, Victoria}}</ref>

<!-- This paragraph has proved to be controversial. It is the subject of discussion on the Talk page. Please do not amend this paragraph without first joining the discussion on the Talk page. -->
In 2018, Pell was convicted of child sexual abuse,<ref name="guilty verdict">Guilty verdict:
*{{Cite web |title=Australia's Cardinal Pell found guilty of sex abuse, expected to appeal |url=https://www.catholicregister.org/home/international/item/28607-australia-s-cardinal-pell-found-guilty-of-sex-abuse-expected-to-appeal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215230726/https://www.catholicregister.org/home/international/item/28607-australia-s-cardinal-pell-found-guilty-of-sex-abuse-expected-to-appeal |archive-date=15 December 2018 |access-date=21 February 2019 |website=Catholic Register}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/12/12/cardinal-pell-top-advisor-pope-francis-found-guilty-historical-sexual-offenses |title=Cardinal Pell, top advisor to Pope Francis, found guilty of 'historical sexual offenses' |date=12 December 2018 |website=America Magazine |access-date=13 December 2018}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40129/reports-of-pell-guilty-verdict-emerge-despite-gag-order |title=Reports of Pell guilty verdict emerge, despite gag order |first=Ed |last=Condon |agency=[[Catholic News Agency]]|access-date=13 December 2018|ref=none}}
*{{cite news |last=Farhl |first=Paul |title=An Australian court's gag order is no match for the Internet, as word gets out about prominent cardinal's conviction |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/an-australian-courts-gag-order-is-no-match-for-the-internet-as-word-gets-out-about-prominent-cardinals-conviction/2018/12/13/5137005c-fef5-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html |access-date=16 December 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=13 December 2018|ref=none}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Church grapples to come to terms with Pell conviction |url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11439/church-grapples-to-come-to-terms-with-pell-conviction-}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 March 2018 |title=Police had started George Pell taskforce 'before any crime was reported' |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-28/george-pell-committal-detectives-single-mindedly-pursued-charge/9597312 |access-date=29 March 2018 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> and served 404 days in prison, much of it in solitary confinement. On [[appeal]] the convictions were [[quash]]ed and Pell acquitted in 2020 by the [[High Court of Australia]] in the decision ''[[Pell v The Queen]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Apr 7, 2020 |title=George Pell convictions quashed on appeal to High Court |url=https://sterlinglawqld.com/george-pell-convictions-quashed-on-appeal-to-high-court/ |access-date=30 November 2021 |website=Sterling Law}}</ref> A separate investigation by the [[Holy See]]'s [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] into these allegations of abuse concluded upon his acquittal by the High Court.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Collett |first=Michael |date=18 September 2019 |title=The Catholic Church has its own secret investigation into Pell. Here's who is running it |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-19/george-pell-and-the-vatican-organisation-investigating-him/11455530 |access-date=12 May 2021 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |language=en-AU}}</ref> However, in January 2025 it was announced that the Australian National Redress Scheme had accepted that Pell abused two boys in Ballarat in the 1970s, with compensation paid to one of the boys in question five weeks prior to Pell's death.<ref name="NRS-finding">{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-31/george-pell-ballarat-abused-boys/104863920|title=George Pell raped, groped two boys in Ballarat, compensation scheme decides|website=ABC News |date=30 January 2025|access-date=31 January 2025|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250203032251/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-31/george-pell-ballarat-abused-boys/104863920 |archive-date=2025-02-03}}</ref><ref name="NRS-finding-Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/31/two-men-abused-by-george-pell-granted-compensation-by-australian-government-ntwnfb|last=Doherty|first=Ben|title=Two men abused by George Pell in 1970s granted compensation by the federal government|work=The Guardian|date=1 February 2025|access-date=1 February 2025|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202063949/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/31/two-men-abused-by-george-pell-granted-compensation-by-australian-government-ntwnfb |archive-date=2025-02-02}}</ref><ref name="SMH-redress">{{cite web |last1=Houston |first1=Cameron |title=Victims of sexual abuse by George Pell receive compensation under redress scheme |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/victims-of-sexual-abuse-by-george-pell-receive-compensation-under-redress-scheme-20250131-p5l8o3.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=en |date=31 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="Posthumous sources">Posthumous sources:
*{{Cite news |date=11 January 2023 |title=Controversial Catholic cleric Pell dies aged 81 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-64231261 |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=[[BBC News]] |quote=But the cleric left his post in 2017, returning to Australia to face trial on child sex abuse charges. A jury in 2018 found he had abused two boys while Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. Cardinal Pell, who always maintained his innocence, spent 13 months in prison before the High Court of Australia quashed the verdict in 2020.}}
*{{cite news |last1=McGuirk |first1=Rod |last2=Winfield |first2=Nicole |last3=Perry |first3=Nick |title=Cardinal Pell, whose convictions were overturned, dies at 81 |url=https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-victoria-child-abuse-vatican-city-2124df94744bb3aae1355da240271150 |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=11 January 2023 |quote=... spent 404 days in solitary confinement in his native Australia on child sex abuse charges before his convictions were overturned|ref=none}}
*{{cite news |last1=Pal |first1=Alasdair |last2=Feast |first2=Lincoln |title=Reaction to the death of Australian Cardinal George Pell |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/reaction-death-australian-cardinal-george-pell-2023-01-11/ |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=11 January 2023 |quote=George Pell, a leading Roman Catholic conservative and former top Vatican official who in 2020 was acquitted of child sexual abuse allegations.|ref=none}}
*{{cite news |title=Cardinal Pell: a divisive figure cleared of sexual abuse |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230111-cardinal-pell-a-divisive-figure-cleared-of-sexual-abuse |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=[[France 24]] |agency=[[Agence France Presse]] |date=11 January 2023 |quote=... leaves a legacy forever marked by a paedophilia conviction that was later overturned. ... served 12 months in jail before a court quashed his conviction on five counts of sexually abusing 13-year-old choirboys in the 1990s.}}
*{{cite news |title=Cardinal George Pell dies in Rome aged 81 after hip surgery |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-11/cardinal-george-pell-dies-vatican-aged-81/101843096 |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=[[ABC News Australia]] |date=11 January 2023 |quote=... was jailed in Australia for child sexual abuse in 2019 but vigorously maintained his innocence and had his convictions quashed more than a year later.}}</ref>

According to findings released by Australia's [[Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse]] in 2020, Pell knew of child sexual abuse by clergy by the 1970s but did not take adequate action to address it. Pell said he was "surprised" and that the royal commission's findings "are not supported by evidence".<ref name="Cardinal Pell-2020" />

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==Early life and education==
Pell was born on 8 June 1941 in [[Ballarat]], Victoria,<ref name="Hillenbrand Books-2005">{{Cite book |title=Cardinal Reflections: Active Participation and the Liturgy |publisher=Hillenbrand Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59525-013-1 |editor-last=Arinze |editor-first=Francis |editor-link=Francis Arinze |location=Chicago |page=vi |editor-last2=George |editor-first2=Francis |editor-link2=Francis George |editor-last3=Medina Estévez |editor-first3=Jorge |editor-link3=Jorge Medina (cardinal) |editor-last4=Pell |editor-first4=George}}</ref> to George Arthur and Margaret Lillian Pell (née Burke).<ref name="Miranda">{{Cite news |last=Miranda |first=Salvador |title=Pell, George |url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios-p.htm#Pell |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002118/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-p.htm#Pell |archive-date=31 December 2013 |access-date=4 May 2010 |url-status=live |work=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church}}{{Self-published source|date=April 2019}}</ref> His father was a non-practising [[Anglican]] whose ancestors were from [[Leicestershire]] in England; he was also a [[heavyweight]] boxing champion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Nick |date=26 February 2019 |title=George Pell 'the ambitious Australian bulldog': The boy from Ballarat |url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/5924656/george-pell-the-ambitious-australian-bulldog-the-boy-from-ballarat/ |access-date=28 February 2019 |website=Newcastle Herald}}</ref> His mother was a devout Catholic of Irish descent.<ref name="Livingstone-2004">{{Cite book |last=Livingstone |first=Tess |title=George Pell: Defender of the Faith Down Under |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-89870-984-1 |location=San Francisco}}</ref>{{rp|21}} As a child, Pell underwent 24 operations to remove an [[abscess]] in his throat.<ref name="Livingstone-2004" />{{rp|25}}

Pell attended [[Loreto College, Ballarat|Loreto Convent]] and [[St Patrick's College, Ballarat|St Patrick's College]] in Ballarat.<ref name="Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney">{{Cite web |title=Our Archbishop&nbsp;– Biography |url=http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/people/archbishop/biography.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326194000/http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/people/archbishop/biography.shtml |archive-date=26 March 2009 |publisher=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney}}</ref> At St Patrick's, he played [[Australian rules football]] as a [[Ruckman (Australian rules football position)|ruckman]] on the first XVIII from 1956 to 1959.<ref name="Zwartz, Barney-2003">{{Cite news |last=Zwartz, Barney |date=1 October 2003 |title=The inexorable rise of George Pell |url=https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/30/1064819923402.html |access-date=13 March 2012 |work=The Age |location=Melbourne, Australia}}</ref> He reportedly signed with the [[Richmond Football Club]] in 1959. Pell's ambitions later turned to the priesthood. Speaking of his decision to enter seminary, Pell once said, "To put it crudely, I feared and suspected and eventually became convinced that God wanted me to do His work, and I was never able to successfully escape that conviction."<ref name="Livingstone-2004" />{{rp|34}}

In 1960, Pell began his studies for the priesthood at [[Corpus Christi College, Melbourne|Corpus Christi College]], then located in [[Werribee, Victoria|Werribee]].<ref name="Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney" />{{efn|One of his fellow seminarians at Corpus Christi was [[Denis Hart]],<ref name="Livingstone-2004" />{{rp|38–39}} Pell's successor as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne|Archbishop of Melbourne]].<ref name="Livingstone-2004" />{{page needed|date=March 2012}}}} He continued to play football and served as class [[prefect]] in his second and third years.<ref name="Livingstone-2004" />{{rp|41–42}} In 1963, he was assigned to continue studies at the [[Pontifical Urban University]] in Rome.<ref name="Zwartz, Barney-2003" /> He was [[Holy orders|ordained]] to the [[diaconate]] on 15 August 1966.<ref name="Miranda" />

==Ecclesiastical career==
===Priesthood===
On 16 December 1966, Pell was ordained a priest by Cardinal [[Gregorio Pietro Agagianian]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pentin, Edward |date=20 August 2019 |title=Cardinal George Pell: A Timeline |url=https://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-george-pell-a-timeline |access-date=17 September 2019 |work=National Catholic Register |location=United States}}</ref> at [[St. Peter's Basilica]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 February 2019 |title=George Pell: Who is the cardinal convicted of sexual abuse? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-40439549 |access-date=17 September 2019 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> He received a [[Licentiate of Sacred Theology]] degree from the [[Pontificia Università Urbaniana]] in 1967, and continued his studies at the [[University of Oxford]] where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in [[church history]] in 1971 with a thesis entitled "The exercise of authority in early Christianity from about 170 to about 270".<ref name="Miranda" /><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Pell |first=George |title=The Exercise of Authority in Early Christianity from about 170 to about 270 |access-date=14 August 2020 |degree=DPhil dissertation |publisher=University of Oxford |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7f95de21-7c29-4496-b187-c86d658ff6fb |oclc=85480988 |year=1972}}</ref> During his studies at Oxford he also served as a chaplain to Catholic students at [[Eton College]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 February 2014 |title=Pell pushed the right buttons in Rome |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/pell-pushed-the-right-buttons-in-rome/ox20a74y5 |access-date=10 January 2023 |publisher=SBS News}}</ref>

In 1971, Pell returned to Australia and was assigned to serve as an [[Curate|assistant priest]] in [[Swan Hill, Victoria|Swan Hill]], where he remained for two years.<ref name="Miranda" /> He then served at a parish in [[Ballarat East, Victoria|Ballarat East]] from 1973 to 1983, becoming administrator of the parish of Bungaree in 1984.<ref name="Miranda" /> In 1982, he earned a [[Master of Education]] degree from [[Monash University]] in Melbourne.<ref name="Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney" /> During his tenure in Ballarat East and Bungaree, he also served as [[Vicar general|Episcopal Vicar]] for Education (1973–84), director of the Aquinas campus of the Institute of Catholic Education (1974–84) and principal of the Institute of Catholic Education (1981–84).<ref name="Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney" /><ref name="Hillenbrand Books-2005" /> He was also editor of ''Light'', the newspaper of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat|Diocese of Ballarat]], from 1979 to 1984.<ref name="Miranda" />

From 1985 to 1987, Pell served as seminary [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of his ''alma mater'', Corpus Christi College.<ref name="Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney" />

===Diocesan episcopal career===

Pell was appointed an [[auxiliary bishop]] of Melbourne and [[titular bishop]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Scala]] (Italy) on 30 March 1987. He received his [[Bishop (Catholicism)|episcopal consecration]] on 21 May 1987 from Archbishop [[Frank Little (bishop)|Frank Little]], with bishops [[Ronald Mulkearns]] and Joseph O'Connell serving as [[Consecrator|co-consecrators]]. He served as Bishop for the Southern Region of Melbourne (1987–96). During this time, he was a parish priest in [[Mentone, Victoria|Mentone]].<ref name="Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney" />

Pell was named seventh [[Archdiocese of Melbourne|Archbishop of Melbourne]] on 16 July 1996, receiving the [[pallium]] from [[Pope John Paul II]] on 29 June 1997. He was later appointed eighth [[Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of Sydney|Archbishop of Sydney]] on 26 March 2001 and again received the pallium from John Paul on 29 June 2001.<ref name="Holy See Press Office">{{Cite web |title=Pell Card. George |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_pell_g.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904063515/http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_pell_g.html |archive-date=4 September 2017 |access-date=26 November 2017 |publisher=Holy See Press Office}}</ref>

Pell was a consultor of the [[Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace]] from 1990 to 1995 and a member from 2002. From 1990 to 2000 he was a member of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]. In April 2002, John Paul II named him President of the [[Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments#Vox Clara commission|Vox Clara commission]] to advise the [[Congregation for Divine Worship]] on English translations of liturgical texts.<ref name="Holy See Press Office" /> On 21 December 2002 he was appointed a member of the [[Pontifical Council for the Family]],<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 21.12.2002 |date=21 December 2002 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2002/12/21/0637/02035.html |language=it |access-date=27 February 2019}}</ref> having previously served as a consultor to the council. On 22 September 2012, Pell was appointed a member of the [[Congregation for Bishops]].<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 22.12.2012 |date=22 September 2012 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2012/09/22/0537/01204.html |language=it |access-date=27 February 2019}}</ref>

As Archbishop of Melbourne, Pell maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining a strict adherence to Catholic orthodoxy; with some dispute over the issue of Catholics and [[primacy of conscience]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pell |first=George |date=10 February 2005 |title=Newman and the Drama of True and False Conscience |url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ZPELLNEW.HTM |access-date=13 March 2012 |work=A Zenit Daily Dispatch |location=Chicago}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kennedy, Jean |date=20 February 2006 |title=Pell accused of Catholic 'dictatorship' |url=https://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1573997.htm |access-date=13 March 2012 |work=The World Today |publisher=ABC NewsRadio |location=Australia |format=transcript}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pell |first1=George |last2=Brennan |first2=Gerard |date=2023 |title=The Pell-Brennan exchange on the primacy of conscience |url=https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pellbrennanconscience.pdf |journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society |volume=44 |pages=128–138 |access-date=26 Dec 2023}}</ref>

In 2001, he argued: "We must not allow the situation to deteriorate as it had in [[Elijah]]'s time, 850 years before Christ, where [[monotheism]] was nearly swamped by the aggressive paganism of the followers of [[Baal]]." In 2010, on reviewing the movie ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]'', he wrote: "Worship of the powerful forces of nature is half right, a primitive stage in the movement towards acknowledging the one: the single Transcendent God, above and beyond nature. It is a symptom of our age that Hollywood is pumping out this old-fashioned [[pagan]] propaganda."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dale |first=David |date=16 January 2010 |title=Box office profit won't make paganism one of our favourite things |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/box-office-profit-wont-make-paganism-one-of-our-favourite-things-20100115-mcce.html |access-date=16 December 2010 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

Pope John Paul II announced on 28 September 2003 that he would appoint Pell and 28 others to the [[College of Cardinals]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 September 2003 |title=List of the 31 New Cardinals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/international/list-of-the-31-new-cardinals.html |access-date=4 March 2019 |work=The New York Times |agency=Reuters}}</ref> In the [[Papal consistory|consistory]] of 21 October he was made [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal priest]] of [[Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello, Rome|Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 October 2003 |title=Assignment of the Titles or the Deaconries to the new Cardinals |url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2003/documents/ns_lit_doc_20031021_titoli-diaconie-cardinali_en.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819150158/https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2003/documents/ns_lit_doc_20031021_titoli-diaconie-cardinali_en.html |archive-date=19 August 2016 |access-date=13 April 2020 |publisher=Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff}}</ref> With Pell as cardinal, Australia had, for the first time, three cardinals eligible to participate in a [[Papal conclave|papal election]]: Pell, [[Edward Bede Clancy]] and [[Edward Idris Cassidy]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 2013 |title=Conclave to elect a new pope begins |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2013/03/12/cardinals-celebrate-mass-before-entering-conclave/8yZx9nhoOqoY6av7314llM/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228065838/https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2013/03/12/cardinals-celebrate-mass-before-entering-conclave/8yZx9nhoOqoY6av7314llM/story.html |archive-date=28 February 2019 |access-date=28 February 2019 |work=Boston Globe |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

Pell was one of the [[Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 2005|cardinal electors in 2005]] who participated in the [[Papal conclave, 2005|2005 papal conclave]] that elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became [[Pope Benedict XVI]]. He is reported to have served as an unauthorised "campaign manager" for Ratzinger.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elie |first=Paul |date=1 January 2006 |title=The Year of Two Popes |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/01/the-year-of-two-popes/304498/ |access-date=4 March 2019 |work=The Atlantic}}</ref><ref name="Zwartz-2005" /> Pell was mentioned as a possible successor to Benedict XVI as head of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]].<ref name="Zwartz-2005">{{Cite news |last1=Zwartz |first1=Barney |last2=O'Grady |first2=Desmond |date=21 April 2005 |title=Faith's enforcer offers hand of unity |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Faiths-enforcer-offers-hand-of-unity/2005/04/20/1113854264674.html |access-date=13 March 2012 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

Pell instituted new guidelines in February 2007 for family members speaking at funerals. He said that, "on not a few occasions, inappropriate remarks glossing over the deceased's proclivities (drinking prowess, romantic conquests etc) or about the church (attacking its moral teachings) have been made at funeral Masses." Under Pell's guidelines, the eulogy must never replace the celebrant's [[homily]], which should focus on the scripture readings selected, God's compassion, and the [[resurrection of Jesus]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grubel |first=James |date=23 February 2007 |title=Catholics call time on long-winded eulogies |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-eulogy-idUSN2322792920070223 |access-date=27 October 2016 |publisher=Reuters}}</ref>

[[File:Cardinalpellinmelbourne b.jpg|thumb|Pell in 2008]]
Pell lobbied for the successful Sydney bid to host the [[World Youth Day 2008|2008 World Youth Day]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 August 2005 |title=Sydney to host next Catholic World Youth Day |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-08-21/sydney-to-host-next-catholic-world-youth-day/2085840 |access-date=16 December 2018 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> which brought Benedict XVI on his first papal visit to Australia.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 2008 |title=Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Sydney |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/pope-benedict-xvi-arrives-in-sydney-20080713-3ef7.html |access-date=16 December 2018 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> The event drew approximately half a million young people from 200 countries, and one million people came to see the Pope. On 19 July 2008, Benedict issued his first public apology to victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2018 |title=Pope Benedict XVI visits Australia in 2008 |url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/newscaf-pope-benedict-xvi-australia-world-youth-day-2008 |access-date=16 December 2018 |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive |location=Australia}}</ref>

In their 2010 [[Good Friday]] sermons, both Pell and his [[Anglican]] counterpart Archbishop [[Peter Jensen (bishop)|Peter Jensen]] attacked [[atheism]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 April 2010 |title=Christian leaders use Easter to attack atheism |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-04-02/christian-leaders-use-easter-to-attack-atheism/389854 |access-date=16 December 2018 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2 April 2010 |title=Atheists are believers who hate God, says Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/atheists-are-believers-who-hate-god-says-anglican-archbishop-peter-jensen/news-story/5a64bba7b43c7ac042eca1a1c54beda3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217014854/https://www.news.com.au/national/atheists-are-believers-who-hate-god-says-anglican-archbishop-peter-jensen/news-story/5a64bba7b43c7ac042eca1a1c54beda3 |archive-date=17 December 2018 |access-date=16 December 2018 |publisher=News.com Australia}}</ref> Both men were also closely aligned on policy issues<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 August 2005 |title=Pell and Jensen raise IR protest to critical mass |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pell-and-jensen-raise-ir-protest-to-critical-mass-20050806-gdltpe.html |access-date=16 December 2018 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> and Jensen launched Pell's biography.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 October 2002 |title=Archbishops meet for launch |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/archbishops-meet-for-launch-20021030-gduqne.html |access-date=16 December 2018 |work=The Age}}</ref>

On 18 September 2012, Pell was named by Benedict XVI to be one of the papally appointed Synod Fathers for the October 2012 Ordinary General Assembly of the [[Synod of Bishops (Catholic)|Synod of Bishops]] on the New Evangelization.<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/29673.php?index=29673&lang=en }}</ref>

Pell was the only cardinal from Oceania to take part in the [[Papal conclave, 2013|2013 papal conclave]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Philippa |date=11 March 2013 |title=Conclave to elect a new Pope |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21631398 |access-date=13 April 2013 |publisher=BBC News |format=Interactive video}}</ref> At that conclave, he was thought to be organising votes on behalf of Cardinal [[Angelo Scola]] of Milan, the favourite candidate of the Italian cardinals.<ref name="Kelly-2019">{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=Michael |date=27 February 2019 |title=How did George Pell get to where he was? |url=https://international.la-croix.com/news/how-did-george-pell-get-to-where-he-was/9554 |access-date=27 February 2019 |work=La Croix}}</ref>

Following his election, [[Pope Francis]] named Pell, the only non-retired cardinal available to represent Oceania,<ref name="Kelly-2019" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thomas Stafford Cardinal Williams [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bwillts.html |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> one of [[Council of Cardinal Advisers|eight members]] to advise the Pope on reform of the Vatican bureaucracy, called the [[Roman Curia]]; they were appointed to five-year terms.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 April 2013 |title=Pope selects Pell, others to reform church |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-13/pope-selects-pell2c-others-to-reform-church/4627530 |access-date=13 April 2013 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia |agency=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Willey |first=David |title=The Promise of Francis: The Man, the Pope, and the Challenge of Change |publisher=Gallery Books |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4767-8906-4 |location=New York |publication-date=2017 |page=61 |author-link=David Willey (journalist)}}</ref>

===Secretariat for the Economy===
In February 2014, Pell was appointed to be the first [[Pro-prefect|prefect]] of the newly created [[Secretariat for the Economy (Holy See)|Secretariat for the Economy]].<ref name="news.va">{{Cite press release |title=Australian Cardinal to head new Vatican Secretariat for Economy |date=24 February 2014 |publisher=The Holy See |url=http://www.news.va/en/news/australian-cardinal-to-head-new-vatican-secretaria |via=Dicasterium pro Communicatione |access-date=24 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301151124/http://www.news.va/en/news/australian-cardinal-to-head-new-vatican-secretaria |archive-date=1 March 2014}}</ref> In this role, Pell was responsible for the annual budget of the Holy See and the Vatican.<ref name="ABC News">{{Cite web |date=25 February 2014 |title=Cardinal George Pell named as head of Vatican finances, will relocate to Rome |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-25/george-pell-named-as-head-of-vatican-finances/5281300 |access-date=27 February 2014 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> In July 2014 Pell, with the consent of Pope Francis, had the Ordinary Section of [[Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See]] (APSA) transferred to the Secretariat for the Economy to enable the Secretariat to exercise economic control and vigilance over the agencies of the Holy See. It was also announced that remaining staff of APSA would begin to focus exclusively on its role as a treasury for the Holy See and the Vatican City State.<ref name="Holy See Press Office-2014">{{Cite press release |title=Press Conference for the presentation of the New Economic Framework for the Holy See |date=9 July 2014 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2014/07/09/0509/01131.html |access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref>

Following the confirmation of the mission of the [[Institute for the Works of Religion]] (IOR – also known as the Vatican Bank) by the Pope on 7 April 2014, the IOR announced plans for the next stage of development. The [[Council of Cardinal Advisers]], the Secretariat for the Economy, the Supervisory Commission of Cardinals, and the IOR Board of Superintendence agreed that this plan would be carried out by a new executive team led by Jean-Baptiste de Franssu.<ref name="Holy See Press Office-2014" />

Pell was appointed a member of the [[Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples]] on 13 September 2014.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Rinunce e nomine, 13.09.2014 |date=13 September 2014 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2014/09/13/0632/01406.html |language=it |access-date=27 February 2019}}</ref> In November 2014, the Secretariat for the Economy distributed a new handbook to all Vatican offices outlining financial management policies that would go into effect on 1 January 2015. The manual was endorsed by the [[Council for the Economy]] and approved by the Pope. "The purpose of the manual is very simple," said Pell, "it brings Financial Management practices in line with international standards and will help all Entities and Administrations of the Holy See and the Vatican City State prepare financial reports in a consistent and transparent manner."<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 November 2014 |title=Vatican: Secretariat for Economy launches new financial management polices |url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/11/06/vatican_secretariat_for_economy,_new_management_policies/1110354 |access-date=22 May 2015 |work=Vatican Radio}}</ref> In 2015, Cardinal [[Francesco Coccopalmerio]] questioned the scope of the authority given to the Secretariat and to Pell himself, specifically the consolidation of management and not the demand for transparency.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 February 2015 |title=Vatican economic reform plans meeting resistance, leading Italian journalist reports |url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=24056 |access-date=22 May 2015 |work=[[Catholic World News]] |publisher=Catholic Culture}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tornielli, Andrea |date=16 February 2015 |title=Vatican: Doubts grow over Pell's excessive powers |url=http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/39198/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408160449/http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/39198 |archive-date=8 April 2015 |access-date=22 May 2015 |work=Vatican Insider |location=Vatican City}}</ref>

On 12 December 2018, the Vatican announced that Pell was one of three "more elderly" cardinals who were to leave the Pope's [[Council of Cardinal Advisers]] after a five-year term. The three were also thanked by the Pope for their service.<ref>Sources:
* {{Cite web |date=13 December 2018 |title=George Pell removed from Vatican's cardinal council |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-13/george-pell-no-longer-part-of-vatican-council-of-cardinals/10614092 |access-date=13 December 2018|work=[[ABC News (Australia)]]}}
* {{Cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Jason|last2=Povoledo|first2=Elisabetta|date=12 December 2018|title=Pope Expels Two Cardinals Implicated in Sex Abuse From His Council|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/world/europe/pope-cardinals-pell-abuse.html|access-date=13 December 2018|ref=none}}
* {{cite web|last=Bordoni|first=Linda|date=12 December 2018|title=Council of Cardinal Advisors wrap-up December meeting|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2018-12/council-cardinal-advisors-december-meeting-burke.html|access-date=13 December 2018|website=[[Vatican News]]|ref=none}}
* {{cite press release|last=Burke|first=Greg|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/12/12/181212d.html|title=Briefing by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, on the 27th Meeting of the Council of Cardinals with the Holy Father Francis, 12.12.2018|publisher=[[Holy See Press Office]]|date=12 December 2018|access-date=14 December 2018|ref=none}}
* {{cite news|date=13 December 2018|title=Pope Francis cuts George Pell and two other cardinals from Vatican council|website=[[news.com.au]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/pope-francis-cuts-george-pell-and-two-other-cardinals-from-vatican-council/news-story/f6ef172907f55a0b009bd0aa242a1595|access-date=13 December 2018}}</ref> On 24 February 2019, his five-year term as Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy expired.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 February 2019 |title=Cardinal Pell no longer prefect of Vatican's economy secretariat |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40665/cardinal-pell-no-longer-prefect-of-vaticans-economy-secretariat |access-date=27 March 2019 |agency=Catholic News Agency}}</ref>

===Vatican investigation of sexual abuse charges===
Immediately following Pell's initial conviction for sexual abuse in February 2019, the Holy See's [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] (CDF) initiated its own investigation of the charges against him,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wooden |first=Cindy |date=27 February 2019 |title=Vatican announces canonical investigation of Cardinal Pell |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/vatican-announces-canonical-investigation-cardinal-pell |access-date=11 April 2020 |work=National Catholic Reporter |agency=Catholic News Service}}</ref>{{efn|The CDF has had jurisdiction over sexual offences committed by the Catholic clergy with minors since 2001. Its proceedings are secret.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collett |first=Michael |date=18 September 2019 |title=What is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and why is it investigating George Pell? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-19/george-pell-and-the-vatican-organisation-investigating-him/11455530 |access-date=11 April 2020 |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref>}} but the Vatican also said the CDF would await a "definitive judgment" from the Australian courts in the case. The Pope reaffirmed at that time that Pell was "forbidden to exercise public ministry and ... from having contact in any way or form with minors", restrictions that had been in place since Pell's return to Australia in July 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 February 2019 |title=Vatican says it will await results of Pell's appeal of sex abuse conviction |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/02/vatican-says-it-will-await-results-of-pells-appeal-of-sex-abuse-conviction/ |access-date=11 April 2020 |work=Crux}}</ref> When Pell's conviction was upheld in August 2019, the Vatican again said its review would wait for Pell to exhaust his appeals.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Brennan |first1=Bridget |last2=Whalan |first2=Roscoe |date=21 August 2019 |title=George Pell's failed appeal now a monumental test for Pope Francis |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-22/george-pell-failed-appeal-is-test-for-vatican-and-pope-francis/11436654 |access-date=11 April 2020 |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> When Pell's convictions were quashed in April 2020, a Vatican spokesperson said that ruling would contribute to the CDF's investigation which would "draw its conclusions on the basis of the norms of canon law".<ref name="Crux">{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Elise Ann |date=7 April 2020 |title=Vatican welcomes Pell verdict, affirms anti-abuse resolve as survivors protest |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/04/vatican-welcomes-pell-verdict-affirms-anti-abuse-resolve-as-survivors-protest/ |access-date=11 April 2020 |work=Crux}}</ref> The CDF's investigations concluded upon Pell's acquittal by the High Court.<ref name="ND.nl">{{Cite web |date=21 May 2021 |title=Kardinaal Pell ook door Vaticaan vrijgesproken van seksueel misbruik |url=https://www.nd.nl/geloof/katholiekinside/1035690/kardinaal-pell-ook-door-vaticaan-vrijgesproken-van-seksueel-mis |access-date=1 June 2021 |website=Nederlands Dagblad |language=nl}}</ref>

===Illness and death===
In January 2010, Pell experienced [[cardiac]] problems during his Vatican visit, and in February had a [[pacemaker]] fitted in a Rome hospital.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maley |first=Jacqueline |date=18 February 2010 |title=Pell gets booster for heart |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/pell-gets-booster-for-heart-20100218-oiz5.html |access-date=13 March 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> In 2015, Pell's doctors judged his heart condition serious enough to prevent air travel from Italy to Australia to appear before the [[Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse]]. He was expected to be well enough to travel in February 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Neil, Megan |date=11 December 2015 |title=Pell to return in February |url=http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2015/12/11/pell-forced-return-australia-feb/ |access-date=14 December 2015 |work=The New Daily}}</ref> However, he was excused from giving evidence in person by commission chair Justice [[Peter McClellan]], based on a two-page medical report submitted by Pell's lawyers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Michelle |date=8 February 2016 |title=Pell excused from giving royal commission evidence in person |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-08/george-pell-excused-from-giving-evidence-in-person/7149012 |access-date=13 March 2019 |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU |location=Australia}}</ref> He testified from a hotel in Rome through a video link up.<ref name="Cardinal George Pell tells child sexual abuse royal commission Catholic Church made-2016" /> In December 2018, he underwent knee surgery.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 December 2018 |title=George Pell admitted to hospital |url=https://m.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/george-pell-admitted-to-hospital/3602186/ |access-date=13 April 2020 |work=The Daily Examiner}}</ref> He recovered sufficiently to stop using a cane by June 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 June 2019 |title=George Pell: Cardinal's bid to overturn conviction begins |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-48507583 |access-date=13 April 2020 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> In February 2019, when he was taken into custody following his conviction, an assessment of his mental and physical health concluded he was healthy enough to be kept in [[HM Melbourne Assessment Prison]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 February 2019 |title=George Pell spends night in Melbourne Assessment Prison after his bail is revoked |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-27/george-pell-spends-first-night-in-jail-after-bail-revoked/10852940 |access-date=1 March 2019 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref>

On 10 January 2023, at the age of 81, Pell died of cardiac arrest following hip surgery at the Salvator Mundi hospital in [[Rome]], having attended the [[funeral of Pope Benedict XVI]] a few days earlier.<ref name="Posthumous sources" /><ref name="Allen-2023" /> For the last two years and three months of his life, Pell lived in Rome, taking up residency in an apartment one block away from the Vatican.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brockhaus |first=Hannah|ref=none|date=12 January 2023 |title=Cardinal George Pell's final years in Rome |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253336/cardinal-george-pell-s-final-years-in-rome |access-date=18 January 2023 |publisher=Catholic News Agency}}</ref> His body [[lying in state|lay in state]] at the Church of [[St Stephen of the Abyssinians]] before a Requiem Mass at [[St. Peter's Basilica]] on 14 January, which was celebrated by [[Giovanni Battista Re]], [[Dean of the College of Cardinals]], and [[Concelebration|concelebrated]] by other cardinals and bishops,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brockhaus |first=Hannah|ref=none|date=14 January 2023 |title='A man of the Church': Cardinal George Pell's funeral celebrated at Vatican |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253353/a-man-of-the-church-cardinal-george-pell-s-funeral-celebrated-at-vatican |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref> with the final blessing and commendation given by [[Pope Francis]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/14/cardinal-george-pell-funeral-takes-place-at-vatican ''The Guardian'', "Cardinal George Pell's funeral takes place at Vatican"], 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.</ref> Pell's Funeral Mass was celebrated at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on 1 February during a closed service which was held amid protest concerns.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 February 2023 |title=Cardinal George Pell's body lies in state in Australia |url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/cardinal-george-pells-body-lies-093744448.html |access-date=1 February 2023 |publisher=Yahoo News |agency=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=McGuirk |first=Rod |date=1 February 2023 |title=Pell mourned at Sydney cathedral day before funeral, protest |url=https://apnews.com/article/george-pell-funeral-protests-mourning-c9c857e8ef06bf638f1a3143b7e0b00a |access-date=1 February 2023 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> He was buried in the cathedral's crypt.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 February 2023 |title=Late Australian cardinal's funeral sparks Sydney protests |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230202-late-australian-cardinal-s-funeral-sparks-sydney-protests-1 |access-date=2 February 2023 |publisher=France 24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hildebrandt |first1=Carla |last2=Parkes-Hupton |first2=Heath |date=2 February 2023 |title=Live updates: Cardinal George Pell's funeral begins in Sydney as protesters, mourners clash outside |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-02/george-pell-funeral-live-blog/101920804 |access-date=2 February 2023 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Juanola |first=Marta Pascual |date=11 January 2023 |title=George Pell death updates: Cardinal dies age 81; to be buried in Sydney |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/george-pell-death-live-updates-cardinal-dies-aged-81-20230111-p5cbqw.html |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref name="Allen-2023">{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Elise Ann |date=11 January 2023 |title=Cardinal George Pell, a giant in more ways than one, dies at 81 |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2023/01/cardinal-george-pell-a-giant-in-more-ways-than-one-dies-at-81 |access-date=11 January 2023 |publisher=Crux Now}}</ref> Leading public figures who attended the funeral service included former prime ministers [[Tony Abbott]] and [[John Howard]], and federal opposition leader [[Peter Dutton]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hutchinson |first=Samantha |date=2 February 2023 |title=John Howard, Alan Jones, Peter Dutton attend George Pell's funeral |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/john-howard-alan-jones-peter-dutton-attend-george-pell-s-funeral-20230202-p5chez |access-date=2 February 2023 |publisher=Australian Financial Review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2 February 2023 |title=Australian Cardinal Pell's funeral marked by arrival of protesters, mourners |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australian-cardinal-pells-funeral-marked-by-arrival-protesters-mourners-2023-02-02/ |access-date=2 February 2023 |publisher=Reuters}}</ref> However, other leading public figures did not attend: Governor-General [[David Hurley]], Prime Minister [[Anthony Albanese]], NSW Governor [[Margaret Beazley]], NSW Premier [[Dominic Perrottet]], NSW opposition leader [[Chris Minns]] and Lord Mayor of Sydney [[Clover Moore]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Segaert |first1=Anthony |last2=Baker |first2=Jordan |last3=Mitchell |first3=Georgina |date=1 February 2023 |title=Top politicians, dignitaries to skip funeral of divisive Cardinal Pell |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/silent-protests-mourning-as-george-pell-s-body-lies-in-state-20230201-p5ch2c.html |access-date=1 February 2023 |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref name="ABC">{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-02/cardinal-george-pell-funeral-st-marys-cathedral/101921314|last=Kidd|first=Jessica|title=Hundreds farewell Cardinal George Pell at Sydney funeral as police break up clash with protesters|website=ABC News|date=2 February 2023|access-date=14 June 2024}}</ref> LGBT groups, survivors of child sexual abuse and their supporters protested in [[Hyde Park, Sydney|Hyde Park]], opposite the cathedral.<ref name="ABC"/>

==Views==
In the Australian context, Pell was regarded as progressive on some issues such as [[Asylum seekers in Australia|asylum seekers]] but strongly conservative on matters of faith and morals.<ref name="thesydneyinstitute.com.au">{{Cite speech |author-link=Gerard Henderson |location=Sydney, Australia |date=29 October 2007 |title=Cardinal George Pell's Book God and Caesar |author=Henderson, Gerard |url=http://www.thesydneyinstitute.com.au/cardinal-george-pells-book-god-and-caesar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320001131/http://www.thesydneyinstitute.com.au/cardinal-george-pells-book-god-and-caesar/ |archive-date=20 March 2015 |publisher=The Sydney Institute}}</ref> He was often wary of what he called the "callousness" of unrestrained [[capitalism]]. He wrote that a Catholic is someone who is not only a person of personal conscience but "is someone who believes Christ is Son of God, accepts His teachings and lives a life of worship, service and duty in the community. Catholics are not created by the accident of birth to remain only because their tribe has an interesting history."<ref name="Pell-2007">{{Cite news |last=Pell |first=George |date=10 June 2007 |title=Question of conscience |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/question-of-conscience/story-e6frezz0-1111113712980 |access-date=8 August 2011 |work=The Sunday Telegraph |location=Australia}}</ref>

===Theology and worship===

====''Ad orientem'' liturgy====
In 2009 Pell supported, in the abstract but not as a proposal for immediate application, mandatory celebration of the [[Canon of the Mass]] with the orientation of the priest ''[[ad orientem]]'' (towards the east), facing in the same direction as the congregation. "There's nothing like a consensus in favour of that at the moment", he said. "I think I would be in favour of it because it makes it patently clear that the priest is not the centre of the show, that this is an act of worship of the one true God, and the people are joining with the priest for that."<ref name="herald">{{Cite news |date=20 March 2009 |title=Cardinal Pell hopes for mandatory ad orientem worship, says Obama has 'very slight curriculum vitae' |url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=2368 |work=[[Catholic World News]]}}</ref>

====Adam and Eve====
During a debate against [[Richard Dawkins]] on the television show ''[[Q+A (Australian talk show)|Q&A]]'' in 2012, in response to whether there had ever been a [[Garden of Eden]] scenario with an "actual" [[Adam and Eve]], Pell said:<ref name="qanda">{{Cite news |date=9 April 2012 |title=Religion and Atheism |url=https://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3469101.htm |access-date=16 April 2012 |work=Q&A |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia |format=transcript}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Perpitch |first=Nicolas |date=10 April 2012 |title=Adam and Eve? That's just mythology, says Pell |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/adam-and-eve-thats-just-mythology-says-pell/story-e6frg6nf-1226322379822 |work=The Australian}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Adam and Eve are terms – what do they mean: life and earth. It's like every man. That's a beautiful, sophisticated, mythological account. It's not science but it's there to tell us two or three things. First of all that God created the world and the universe. Secondly, that the key to the whole of universe, the really significant thing, are humans and, thirdly, it is a very sophisticated mythology to try to explain the evil and suffering in the world.}}

====Ordination of women and priestly celibacy====
In 2005 Pell supported the view that the [[ordination of women]] as priests is impossible according to the church's divine constitution and said that abandoning the tradition of [[Clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church|clerical celibacy]] would be a "serious blunder".<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 October 2005 |title=Cardinal Pell: Ending Celibacy Rule Would Be a Blunder |url=http://www.opusbono.org/resources/CardinalPellEndingCelibacyRuleWouldBeaBlunder.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628063909/http://www.opusbono.org/resources/CardinalPellEndingCelibacyRuleWouldBeaBlunder.asp |archive-date=28 June 2006 |access-date=5 May 2006 |work=Opus Bono Sacerdotii |location=Vatican City |agency=Zenit}}</ref>

===Pope Benedict XVI===
Pell said that the decision of [[Pope Benedict XVI]] to retire in 2013 could set a precedent which may be a problem for future leaders. He thought Benedict's decision to step down had destabilised the church and some of those surrounding the Pope had failed to support him in his ministry. "He was well aware that this is a break with tradition [and] slightly destabilising", Pell said. According to him, the Pope was a better theologian than he was a leader.<ref name="Gearin, Mary-2013">{{Cite news |last=Gearin, Mary |date=28 February 2013 |title=Pell criticises Pope's decision to quit |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-28/pell-criticises-popes-decision-to-quit/4544294 |access-date=6 March 2013 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref>

In response to the statement that he had criticised Benedict XVI, Pell said he was stating what the Pope already mentioned himself, and his comments were "not breaking any ground".<ref name="Gearin, Mary-2013" /> During a youth conference in Parramatta, Bishop [[Anthony Fisher]] said that Pell was merely "stating the pros and cons of the Pope's decision" and those who said his comments were critical were taking him out of context.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Viva il Papa! Legacy, Elections & the Future Church with Bishop Anthony Fisher – Q&A |url=http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=3370&categoryId=26&episodeId=1896 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403162249/http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=3370&categoryId=26&episodeId=1896 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |access-date=27 February 2019 |website=Theology on Tap}}</ref>

===Pope Francis===
In the days following his death, it was revealed that Pell had been the author of a memo published in 2022 on the blog ''Settimo Cielo'' under the pseudonym of "Demos", in which Pell expressed harsh criticisms of Pope Francis and labelled his pontificate as "a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe". Pell accused Francis of failing to stand up to the [[Chinese Communist Party]], of failing to lend sufficient support to Ukraine and the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] and for not doing enough to stop the [[Catholic Church in Germany]] from questioning traditional doctrines on LGBT issues and [[Ordination of women and the Catholic Church|women's ordination]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Winfield |first=Nicole |date=2023-01-12 |title='Catastrophe': Cardinal Pell's secret memo blasts Francis |url=https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-australia-rome-vatican-city-9253a16c95f7870a07fd58b00b266f1e |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Rob |date=2023-01-12 |title=George Pell slammed Pope Francis as 'disaster', 'catastrophe' in anonymous memo |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/george-pell-slammed-pope-francis-as-disaster-catastrophe-in-anonymous-memo-20230113-p5cc92.html |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> The person who had revealed Demos' identity, [[Sandro Magister]], who was also the memo's publisher, said that Pell had allowed him to reveal he was Demos after his death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Condon |first=Ed. |date=2023-01-19 |title='Pope Francis unleashed' vs the 'conservative plot' — are either real? |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/pope-francis-unleashed-vs-the-conservative-plot-are-either-real/ |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=The Pillar |language=en}}</ref>

In an article he wrote for ''[[The Spectator]]'', published shortly after his death, Pell described [[Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|Pope Francis' Synod on the Synod]] as a "toxic nightmare".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-01-13 |title=Late Cardinal George Pell called Pope a 'catastrophe' in anonymous memo |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-64258319 |access-date=2023-01-15 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pell |first=George |date=2023-01-11 |title=The Catholic Church must free itself from this 'toxic nightmare' |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-catholic-church-must-free-itself-from-this-toxic-nightmare/ |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=The Spectator |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Political issues===

====Asylum seekers and refugees====
Pell criticised the bipartisan policy of mandatory detention of [[Asylum in Australia|asylum seekers in Australia]] and called for "empathy and compassion" towards displaced peoples.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pell |first=George |date=19 August 2001 |title=Most Churches in Australia observe next Sunday as Refugee Sunday |url=http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/people/archbishop/stc/2001/2001819_1271.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722140931/http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/people/archbishop/stc/2001/2001819_1271.shtml |archive-date=22 July 2011 |access-date=8 August 2011 |publisher=Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney}}</ref> Pell said that while a policy of deterrence was justifiable, the practice of the policy was coming at too great a "moral cost".<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 January 2002 |title=Labor rethinks detention stance |url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s468643.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731041327/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s468643.htm |archive-date=31 July 2016 |access-date=8 August 2011 |work=Lateline |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia |format=transcript}}</ref> Describing conditions in some of Australia's mandatory detention camps in 2001 as "pretty tight and miserable" and "no place for women and children", Pell called for investigation of any maltreatment of detainees and said that, while Australia has the right to regulate the number of refugees it accepts, as a rich and prosperous country, it can "afford to be generous" and must treat humanely those refugees who reach Australia.<ref>{{Cite interview |last=Pell |first=George |interviewer=John Cleary |title=George Pell – Catholics Archbishop |type=transcript |url=https://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s1237720.htm |access-date=8 August 2011 |work=Sunday Nights |publisher=ABC NewsRadio |date=16 September 2001|ref=none}}</ref>

===Environmental positions===
In a 2006 speech, Pell said that "hysterical and extreme claims" about the natural environment were the result of the "[[pagan]] emptiness" of Western culture. He said: "In the past pagans [[Animal sacrifice|sacrificed animals]] and [[Human sacrifice|even humans]] in vain attempts to placate capricious and cruel gods. Today they demand a reduction in [[carbon dioxide emissions]]."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Linda |date=5 May 2006 |title=Pell challenges Islam – o ye, of little tolerant faith |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pell-challenges-islam-o-ye-of-little-tolerant-faith-20060505-gdnhi6.html |access-date=27 February 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> In a 2007 article for the Sydney ''[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|Sunday Telegraph]]'', Pell wrote that while climate had changed, he was "certainly sceptical about extravagant claims of impending [[Manmade climate change|man-made climatic catastrophes]], because the evidence is insufficient".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pell |first=George |date=28 October 2007 |title=Jury out on climate change |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/jury-out-on-climate-change/story-e6frezz0-1111114738235 |access-date=8 August 2011 |work=The Sunday Telegraph |location=Australia|ref=none}}</ref>

Responding to the Anglican bishop and environmentalist [[George Browning (bishop)|George Browning]], who told the [[Anglican Church of Australia]]'s general synod that Pell was out of touch with the Catholic Church as well as with the general community,<ref name="Rowbotham">{{Cite news |last=Rowbotham, Jill |date=25 October 2007 |title=Heat on Pell for cool air on climate change |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22644133-12339,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030001833/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22644133-12339,00.html |archive-date=30 October 2007 |access-date=7 April 2009 |work=The Australian}}</ref> Pell stated:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris, Linda |date=25 October 2007 |title=Pell out of touch on climate – bishop |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/pell-out-of-touch-on-climate--bishop/2007/10/24/1192941153341.html |access-date=13 March 2012 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>{{blockquote|Radical environmentalists are more than up to the task of moralising their own agenda and imposing it on people through fear. They don't need church leaders to help them with this, although it is a very effective way of further muting Christian witness. Church leaders in particular should be allergic to nonsense ... I am certainly sceptical about extravagant claims of impending man-made climatic catastrophes. Uncertainties on climate change abound ... my task as a Christian leader is to engage with reality, to contribute to debate on important issues, to open people's minds, and to point out when the emperor is wearing few or no clothes.}}

In July 2015, Pell criticised Pope Francis's [[encyclical]] ''[[Laudato si']]'' for associating the church with the need to address climate. Pell said:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scammell |first=Rosie |date=17 July 2015 |title=Cardinal Pell on environmental encyclical: Church has 'no particular expertise in science.' |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/cardinal-pell-church-has-no-particular-expertise-science |access-date=27 February 2019 |work=America |agency=Religion News Service}}</ref> 
{{blockquote|It's got many, many interesting elements. There are parts of it which are beautiful. But the church has no particular expertise in science ... the church has got no mandate from the Lord to pronounce on scientific matters. We believe in the autonomy of science.}}

Pell publicly expressed concern regarding population decline in July 2008 in a homily for the opening Mass of the [[World Youth Day]] in Sydney, in response to comments made by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] regarding climate change. While travelling to Sydney for the event, Benedict stated in a brief interview that Catholics and others must commit "to finding an ethical way to change our way of life and ways to respond to these great challenges" regarding climate change. Pell stated in his homily that mankind has a duty not "to damage and destroy or ruthlessly use the environment at the expense of future generations", but expressed scepticism regarding human activity causing climate change.<ref name="Morris-2008" /> Pell stated that the "slowing population growth and apathy towards God are the biggest challenges facing the church" and that Western nations faced a population crisis fuelled by "ruthless commercial forces", such that "No western country is producing enough babies to keep the population stable, no western country."<ref name="Morris-2008">{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Linda |date=15 July 2008 |title=Populate or perish, says Cardinal Pell |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/populate-or-perish-says-cardinal-pell-20080715-gdsm6t.html |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref name="Economist condemns Pell-2008" /> Pell's views were contested in the Australian context by the environmental group [[Sustainable Population Australia]], whose media release of 14 July 2008 cited Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that Australia had "a population growth rate of 1.6%, higher than the global average, with twice as many births as deaths...".<ref>Quoted in Mark O'Connor and William Lines, ''Overloading Australia: How governments and media dither and deny on population'', (4th ed.), Sydney, Envirobook, 2010 p. 144.</ref> Pell's views were contested in a global context by the economist [[Jeffrey Sachs]], who argued that "The planet, everyone can feel, is just right at the limits right now in terms of food, in terms of energy supply, in terms of land use." Sachs also suggested that world population projections "are already too high at around an extra 2.5&nbsp;billion people by 2050".<ref name="Economist condemns Pell-2008">{{Cite news |date=15 July 2008 |title=Economist condemns Pell's push for more babies |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-07-15/economist-condemns-pells-push-for-more-babies/2586220 |access-date=11 January 2023 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hartcher |first=Peter |date=18 July 2008 |title=Time to deliver an earthly miracle |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/time-to-deliver-an-earthly-miracle-20080718-gdsmlp.html |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

===Interfaith issues===

====Islam====
Pell wrote of a need to "deepen friendship and understanding" with [[Muslim]]s in the post–[[September&nbsp;11 attacks|September&nbsp;11]] environment and said that though there is a continuing struggle throughout the Muslim world between moderates and men of violence, he believed that, in Australia, "the moderates are in control".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pell |first=George |date=19 September 2010 |title=Ramadan |url=http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/people/archbishop/stc/2010/2010919_707.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722140955/http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/people/archbishop/stc/2010/2010919_707.shtml |archive-date=22 July 2011 |access-date=8 August 2011 |publisher=Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney}}</ref> In 2004, speaking to the [[Acton Institute]] on the problems of "secular democracy", Pell drew a parallel between [[Islam]] and [[communism]]: "Islam may provide in the 21st century, the attraction that communism provided in the 20th, both for those that are alienated and embittered on the one hand and for those who seek order or justice on the other."<ref>{{Cite speech |last=Pell |first=George |event=Acton Institute Annual Dinner |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |date=12 October 2004 |access-date=8 May 2006 |title=Is there only secular democracy? Imagining other possibilities for the third millennium |url=http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/Archbishop/Addresses/20041012_1658.shtml |format=transcript |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208065454/http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/Archbishop/Addresses/20041012_1658.shtml |archive-date=8 February 2006}}</ref>

In February 2006, addressing Catholic business leaders in [[Naples, Florida]], Pell stated: "Considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Israeli |first=Raphael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MK00DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT121 |title=Muslim Minorities in Modern States: The Challenge of Assimilation |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781351504065 |access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> He doubted that Islam possesses the capacity for theological development because "In the Muslim understanding, the Koran comes directly from God, unmediated. The Bible, in contrast, is a product of human co-operation with divine inspiration."<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 May 2006 |title=Cardinal Pell of Sydney encourages Catholics to read Koran |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/6647/cardinal-pell-of-sydney-encourages-catholics-to-read-koran |access-date=28 February 2019 |agency=Catholic News Agency}}</ref> In 2012 and 2013, Pell hosted [[Iftar]] dinners to mark the end of the Islamic celebration of [[Ramadan]].<ref>{{Cite web |year=2013 |title=Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney |url=https://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2013/201387_547.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201143744/https://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2013/201387_547.shtml |archive-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> The Grand Mufti of Australia, [[Ibrahim Abu Mohamed]], expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Pell on behalf of Muslims for hosting the dinner.<ref name="Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney-2012">{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney |url=http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/201283_220.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201143737/http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/201283_220.shtml |archive-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> Pell said during the 2012 dinner that such gatherings are one of the fruits of tolerance that flourishes in Australian society and is a sign of respect for diversity, stating:<ref name="Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney-2012" />

{{blockquote|We are all called to be instruments of peace and harmony among aggressors and those who practice terrorism although we worship the one God in different ways... We gather united in our plans for respect and friendship.}}

====Judaism====
Pell participated in [[interfaith dialogue]]s and celebrations involving Jews. In 2001, he told one such audience at [[Mandelbaum House]] in Sydney that he had come from a strongly pro-Jewish family and of being saddened during his studies of history to find Christian ill-treatment of Jews. Pell spoke of the need to remember the Holocaust and of his visits to concentration camps and of his support for the right of the state of Israel to exist. He praised the role of Vatican II and of Pope John Paul II in advancing the cause of Christian-Jewish dialogue and co-operation. Pell also spoke in praise of the Jewish [[psalms]] as "a body of prayerful literature" unequalled in any other tradition and singled out the Jewish prophets, [[Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah]] and [[Ezekiel]] as authors for whom he has a deep love, and [[Elijah]] as one whom he views as highly significant. Pell called on Christian and Jewish leaders alike to speak together and respectfully listen to each other, saying of the Christian-Jewish relationship:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pell |first=George|ref=none|date=14 May 2001 |title=Christians & Jews: the way ahead |url=http://www.sydneycatholic.org/people/archbishop/addresses/2001/2001514_866.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208170615/http://www.sydneycatholic.org/people/archbishop/addresses/2001/2001514_866.shtml |archive-date=8 February 2015 |access-date=23 April 2012 |publisher=Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney}}</ref>{{blockquote|During the last 30 or 40 years there has been a significant reduction in the amount of Christian anti-Semitism. We thank God for that. To adapt to our circumstances the word of Martin Luther King "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly". Our fortunes, as brothers, are inextricably linked.}}

Pell's remarks to Richard Dawkins{{what|date=January 2024}} led to a clarification from his office, reported by ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' as an apology.<ref name="The Times of Israel-2012">{{Cite news |date=15 April 2012 |title=Australian cardinal apologizes for 'problematic' remarks on Jews |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/australian-cardinal-apologizes-for-anti-semetic-remarks/ |access-date=16 April 2012 |work=The Times of Israel |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref> Pell said, "My commitment to friendship with the Jewish community, and my esteem for the Jewish faith is a matter of public record, and the last thing I would want to do is give offence to either" and that the Holocaust was "a crime unique in history for the death and suffering it caused and its diabolical attempt to wipe out an entire people."<ref name="The Times of Israel-2012" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearlman |first=Jonathan |date=12 April 2012 |title=Australia's most senior-ranked Catholic says Jews 'intellectually and morally inferior' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9199453/Australias-most-senior-ranked-Catholic-says-Jews-intellectually-and-morally-inferior.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9199453/Australias-most-senior-ranked-Catholic-says-Jews-intellectually-and-morally-inferior.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |access-date=15 July 2017 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Sexuality, marriage and bioethics===
Pell received much attention for his attitudes to sexuality issues, particularly homosexuality. When installed as Archbishop of Sydney in May 2001, he said that "Christian teaching on sexuality is only one part of the [[Ten Commandments]], of the virtues and vices, but it is essential for human wellbeing and especially for the proper flourishing of marriages and families, for the continuity of the human race."<ref name="installed">{{Cite journal |last=Gilchrist, Michael |date=June 2001 |title=Archbishop Pell installed in Sydney |url=http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2001/jun2001p3_455.html |journal=AD2000 |volume=14 |page=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628221339/http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2001/jun2001p3_455.html |archive-date=28 June 2011 |access-date=8 August 2011 |number=5}}</ref>

====Divorce and remarriage====
Pell said that, outside exceptional circumstances such as relationships involving physical abuse, it is better for individuals and for society if couples do not divorce, particularly where children are involved.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pell |first=George|ref=none|date=22 July 2001 |title=Family Life Today |url=https://www.sydneycatholic.org/people/archbishop/stc/2001/2001722_886.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320212832/http://www.sydneycatholic.org/people/archbishop/stc/2001/2001722_886.shtml |archive-date=20 March 2012 |access-date=8 August 2011 |publisher=Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney}}</ref> In 2001, [[ABC NewsRadio|ABC radio]]'s ''The World Today'' reported that Pell wanted a return to a divorce system based on the fault of one spouse. Pell told the program that, in an effort to "focus attention on the damage, personal and financial, that unfortunately often follows from divorce", he had prepared a list for public consideration of possible penalties to discourage divorce (particularly where fault by one party was involved) as well as benefits to support couples who stayed together.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 November 2004 |title=George Pell – Catholics Archbishop |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/sundaynights/george-pell-catholics-archbishop/7745794 |access-date=28 February 2019 |publisher=ABC NewsRadio}}</ref>

====LGBT issues====
In 1990, Pell stated publicly that while he recognised that homosexuality existed, such activity was nevertheless wrong and "for the good of society it should not be encouraged."<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 June 2017 |title=George Pell told to face court on historical sexual assault charges |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/cardinal-george-pell-charged-sexual-assault-offences/8547668 |access-date=21 February 2019 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> He had also expressed his belief that [[suicide among LGBT youth|suicide rates among LGBT youth]] were a reason to discourage homosexuality, arguing that "Homosexual activity is a much greater health hazard than smoking."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marr |first=David |author-link=David Marr (journalist) |date=29 June 2017 |title=George Pell profile: the pope's Australian hardman faces the fight of his life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/29/george-pell-profile-the-popes-australian-hardman-faces-the-fight-of-his-life |access-date=21 February 2019 |website=Guardian Australia}}</ref> In 1998, Pell refused communion to members of the [[Rainbow Sash Movement]] who had attended Mass at the cathedral in Melbourne. He publicly rebuked their actions to the applause of other parishioners.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 May 2002 |title=Pell lashes out after gays refused communion |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pell-lashes-out-after-gays-refused-communion-20020520-gdfakf.html |access-date=22 March 2019 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Pell opposed Australian legislation in 2006 that would have permitted LGBT couples to adopt children. In 2007, he said that discrimination against LGBT people was not comparable to that against racial minorities.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jackman, Josh |date=1 May 2018 |title=Pope's former aide who said being gay is 'wrong' faces trial for sex offences |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/05/01/popes-former-aide-who-said-being-gay-is-wrong-faces-trial-for-sex-offences/ |work=Pink News}}</ref>

====HIV/AIDS====
{{see also|Religion and AIDS}}
In 2009, Pell supported the comments made by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] in Africa in relation to controlling the spread of AIDS, in which the Pope reiterated the Catholic teaching that the solution to the AIDS epidemic lay not in the distribution of condoms, but in the practice of sexual abstinence and monogamy within marriage. The Pope said that AIDS could not be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which "can even increase the problem". In response to global coverage of these remarks, Pell said that AIDS was a "great spiritual and health crisis" and a huge challenge, but that "Condoms are encouraging promiscuity. They are encouraging irresponsibility."<ref name="Aust-condom">{{Cite news |last=Stapleton, John |date=11 April 2009 |title=Condoms will not save Africa: Archbishop George Pell |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/condoms-will-not-save-africa-pell/story-e6frg6nf-1225697020673 |access-date=26 April 2009 |work=The Australian}}</ref>
{{blockquote|The idea that you can solve a great spiritual and health crisis like AIDS with a few mechanical contraptions like condoms is ridiculous. If you look at the Philippines you'll see the incidence of AIDS is much lower than it is in Thailand, which is awash with condoms. There are condoms everywhere and the rate of infection is enormous.}}

The president of the AIDS Council of New South Wales, Marc Orr, said Pell's comments were "irresponsible" and "contradicted all evidence" that condoms reduced the transmission of HIV:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tovey, Josephine |date=11 April 2009 |title=Pell backs Pope in saying condoms worsen AIDS spread |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/pell-backs-pope-in-saying-condoms-worsen-aids-spread-20090410-a2u0.html |access-date=26 April 2009 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Mike Toole ([[Burnet Institute]]) and Rob Moodie (Nossal Institute for Global Health) wrote in ''[[The Age]]'' that Pell had said a health worker from an African country told him that "people in remote areas are too poor to afford condoms and the ones that are available are often of very poor quality and weren't used effectively". Both professors argue that "this is not an argument against promoting condoms – it is an argument that we need to ensure that good quality condoms are affordable for everyone and are widely distributed with information about how to use them effectively" and concluded "the sexual abstinence message is clearly not working."<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Toole |first1=Mike |last2=Moodie |first2=Rob |date=14 April 2009 |title=The evidence on preventing AIDS is clear |url=https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-evidence-on-preventing-aids-is-clear-20090413-a4rs.html?page=-1 |access-date=26 April 2009 |work=The Age}}</ref>

In 2010, Benedict told an interviewer that while the church did not consider condoms as a "real or moral solution", there were times where the "intention of reducing the risk of infection" made condom use "a first step" towards a better way. Pell released a statement saying this did not signal a major new shift in Vatican thinking.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Pope's "Light of the World" Interview Sends Media into Meltdown |date=24 November 2010 |publisher=Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney |url=http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/news/features/2010/20101124_115.shtml |access-date=8 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722140839/http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/news/features/2010/20101124_115.shtml |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

====Stem cell research====
Pell supported research on the therapeutic potential of [[adult stem cells]] but opposed [[embryonic stem cell]] research on the basis that the Catholic Church cannot support anything which involves "the destruction of human life at any stage after conception". Under Pell, the Sydney archdiocese has provided funding for adult stem cell research but has actively opposed moves by the [[Parliament of New South Wales]] to liberalise laws pertaining to use of embryonic stem cells.<ref name="Pell-2007" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 March 2010 |title=Catholic Church funds stem cell research |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1028159/catholic-church-funds-stem-cell-research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003190011/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1028159/catholic-church-funds-stem-cell-research |archive-date=3 October 2012 |access-date=9 April 2012 |work=9News |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref>

Following a [[conscience vote]] in the Parliament of New South Wales overturning a ban on [[therapeutic cloning]], in June 2007 Pell said that "Catholic politicians who vote for this legislation must realise that their voting has consequences for their place in the life of the Church."<ref name="Kaveny-2016">{{Cite book |last=Kaveny |first=Cathleen |title=A Culture of Engagement: Law, Religion, and Morality |publisher=Georgetown University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-62616-302-7 |series=Moral Tradition Series |location=Washington |author-link=Cathleen Kaveny}}</ref>{{rp|133}}<ref name="The Sydney Morning Herald-2007">{{Cite news |date=6 June 2007 |title=MPs turn attack back on Cardinal Pell |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/National/MPs-turn-attack-back-on-Cardinal-Pell/2007/06/06/1181089126575.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref> Some members of parliament, including ministers such as [[Kristina Keneally]] and [[Nathan Rees]], condemned Pell's comments, calling them hypocritical; Rees drew comparisons with comments made earlier in the year by [[Taj El-Din Hilaly|Sheik Hilali]].<ref name="The Sydney Morning Herald-2007" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 June 2007 |title=Cardinal Pell sounding like Sheik Hilali, MP says |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21859144-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009214143/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C21859144-2%2C00.html |archive-date=9 October 2007 |access-date=9 April 2012 |work=News.com.au |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref> [[Australian Greens]] MLC [[Lee Rhiannon]] referred Pell's remarks to the New South Wales [[parliamentary privilege]]s committee for allegedly being in [[Contempt of Parliament#Australia|contempt of parliament]]. Pell described this move as a "clumsy attempt to curb religious freedom and freedom of speech".<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 June 2007 |title=Pell slams 'stalinist' parliamentary contempt probe |url=http://cathnews.acu.edu.au/706/83.php |access-date=8 August 2011 |work=CatholicNews |archive-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706114001/http://cathnews.acu.edu.au/706/83.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> In September the committee tabled a report clearing him of this charge and recommending that no further action be taken.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 September 2007 |title=Inquiry into comments made by Cardinal George Pell |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/73A134BD8CA52844CA2572FB0014E42B |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316143541/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/73A134BD8CA52844CA2572FB0014E42B |archive-date=16 March 2011 |access-date=8 August 2011 |website=Privileges Committee of the Legislative Council |publisher=Parliament of New South Wales}}</ref>

The legal scholar and theologian [[Cathleen Kaveny]] wrote that "In every possible respect, Pell's statement backfired" as, following backlash from elected officials and the general public, the bill passed the lower house with what she describes as "an overwhelming 65–26 vote" and passed the upper house with a 27–13 vote.<ref name="Kaveny-2016" />{{rp|133–134}}

==Other roles==
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney takes the role of [[visitor]] of [[St John's College, University of Sydney|St John's College]], a residential college within the [[University of Sydney]].<ref>{{ Cite Legislation AU |NSW|act|sjca1857192|Saint John's College Act 1857|4}}</ref>

Pell accepted the invitation to be patron of the [[Oxford University Newman Society]] and to deliver their inaugural St Thomas More Lecture on 6 March 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Library: Varieties of Intolerance: Religious and Secular |url=http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9024 |access-date=28 February 2019 |website=catholicculture.org}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Sexual abuse by clergy and members of religious orders}}Handling of child sexual abuse cases by clergy while archbishop==

Pell's tenure as Archbishop of Melbourne began when the issue of handling of child sex abuse allegations by institutions was coming to the fore in public debate. Launching the "Melbourne Response" protocol in 1996, Pell said: "It's a matter of regret that the Catholic Church has taken some time to come to grips with the sex abuse issue adequately."<ref name="George Pell-2017">{{Cite news |date=29 June 2017 |title=George Pell, Catholic cardinal, charged with historical sexual assault offences |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/cardinal-george-pell-charged-sexual-assault-offences/8547668 |access-date=29 June 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> In his final sermon as Archbishop of Sydney in 2014 before departing Australia for Rome, Pell told the congregation: "I apologise once again to the victims and their families for the terrible suffering that has been brought to bear by these crimes." He said procedural improvements could still be made to the church's efforts against child sexual abuse, and then added that he "looked forward" to the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which he said was providing a "public service" in allowing victims to air their experiences. His choice of words drew wide criticism as they were perceived as being inappropriately blithe and unempathetic to the victims of abuse.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 March 2015 |title=Cardinal George Pell uses sermon to apologise to victims of sexual abuse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/28/cardinal-george-pell-apologises-to-victims-of-sexual-abuse |work=Guardian Australia}}</ref>

==="Melbourne Response" protocol for abuse cases===
Shortly after becoming Archbishop of Melbourne in August 1996, Pell discussed the issue of child abuse with the Victorian premier as well as the governor and the retired judge Richard McGarvie, who all recommended swift action.<ref name="Tobin-2014">{{Cite web |last=Tobin |first=Bernadette |date=9 March 2014 |title=Royal commission provides an opportunity to further the Pell response |url=https://www.smh.com.au/comment/royal-commission-provides-an-opportunity-to-further-the-pell-response-20140309-34f9p.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> He engaged the law firm Corrs to draft a scheme which would be funded by but operate independently of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.<ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015" />{{rp|29–30}} A public forum was held on 19 October and the resulting "Melbourne Response" was announced on 30 October 1996.<ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015" />{{rp|30–31}}<ref name="SBS News-2017">{{Cite news |date=29 June 2017 |title=George Pell's career in the Catholic Church |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/06/29/george-pells-career-catholic-church |access-date=7 July 2017 |work=SBS News |publisher=SBS}}</ref><ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015">{{Cite book |last=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse |url=http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/232af799-8292-4709-a392-5d8bc7d3e77c/Report-of-Case-Study-No-16 |title=Report of Case Study No. 16: The Melbourne Response |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-925289-29-9 |location=Sydney |author-link=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse |access-date=6 July 2017}}</ref>{{rp|29, 31}} Victims were publicly encouraged to come forward. Pell's Melbourne-specific policy preceded the national church response, known as "Towards Healing", which the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference approved in November and took effect in March 1997.<ref name="Tobin-2014" /> When Pell was appointed a cardinal in 2003, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] said that he had established Australia's first independent commissioner to handle child sexual abuse complaints against clergy.<ref name="ABC News-2003" />

The Melbourne Response was the subject of Case Study 16 in the 2013–2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and was also examined in the 2013 Victorian government ''Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations''. Pell was called to testify at both inquiries.<ref name="SBS News-2017" /><ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015" /> In 2017, the royal commission reported that the Melbourne Response was "widely criticised as being legalistic and offering inadequate support to victims".<ref name="George Pell-2017" /> According to the royal commission, the Melbourne Response set its goals as "truth, humility, healing for the victims, assistance to other persons affected, an adequate response to those accused and to offenders and the prevention of any such offences in the future".<ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015" />{{rp|32}} Its key features were the appointment of independent commissioners to inquire into allegations and make recommendations; a counselling and support service (Carelink); and the establishment of a compensation panel to advise on making ''[[ex-gratia]]'' payments to victims of child sexual abuse.<ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015" /> The payments are made without the church recognising any liability to victims and were initially capped at $50,000.<ref name="George Pell-2017" /> It was increased to $55,000 in 2000 and to $75,000 in 2008.<ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015" /> Peter O'Callaghan was appointed the first independent commissioner. He went on to investigate 351 complaints of child sexual abuse and upheld 97% of them.<ref name="Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse-2015" />{{rp|6}}

===2013 Victorian parliamentary inquiry===

On 27 May 2013, Pell gave evidence before [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]'s Parliamentary ''Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations''.<ref name="Age-Victoria-Inquiry">{{Cite news |last=Goddard |first=Chris |date=1 June 2013 |title=Minimising crimes: How the church is playing with words |url=https://www.theage.com.au/comment/minimising-crimes-how-the-church-is-playing-with-words-20130531-2nh9v.html |access-date=29 June 2017 |work=The Age}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Andresen, Brigid |date=27 May 2013 |title=Cardinal George Pell admits Church covered up cases of child sex abuse |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-27/cardinal-george-pell-appears-at-sex-abuse-inquiry/4714964 |access-date=29 June 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> Pell told the inquiry that he was "fully apologetic and absolutely sorry". The parliamentarians questioned Pell over allegations from the parents of a victim that he had not shown them empathy. Pell said he had in fact fully understood the suffering. He agreed with the inquiry that his predecessor had "covered up" matters for fear of scandal. Pell was heckled from the gallery.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 May 2015 |title=Cardinal George Pell 'sorry' for Church abuse |url=https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3768499.htm |work=7.30 Report |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia}}</ref> Pell critic David Marr wrote that "He [Pell] admitted his church had covered up child sexual abuse for fear of scandal; that his predecessor Archbishop Little had destroyed records, moved paedophile priests from parish to parish and facilitated appalling crimes."<ref name="Victoria-Inquiry-Marr">{{Cite news |last=Marr |first=David |author-link=David Marr (journalist) |date=28 May 2013 |title=George Pell: Everything except his testimony spoke of power |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/28/george-pell-cardinal-abuse-inquiry |access-date=29 June 2017 |work=Guardian Australia}}</ref> During the course of the inquiry, a victim of a paedophile [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|Christian Brother]] at St Alipius Primary School said that in 1969 Pell heard him pleading for help a few weeks after he had been raped. Pell denied the statement, which [[News_Corp_Australia|NewsCorp]] outlets later claimed to have been discredited saying Pell had shown his passport to NewsCorp paper the [[Herald Sun]] to prove he was not living in Australia that year.<ref name="couriermail.com.au">{{Cite news |date=27 June 2015 |title=Passport Proves Cardinal George Pell's point |url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/passport-proves-cardinal-george-pells-point/news-story/49067d0e69d045e8b61a7db9e39b0d2c |work=The Courier-Mail}}</ref>

===Response to historic allegations in Sydney===
During Pell's time as Archbishop of Sydney, allegations of child sexual abuse were made against around 55 priests in the archdiocese. These were largely related to incidents that occurred prior to his arrival as archbishop. The allegations resulted in just under $8&nbsp;million in reparation payments.<ref name="Benns-2014">{{Cite news |last=Benns |first=Matthew |date=10 March 2014 |title=Lawyers acting for Church run up $1.5m bill against victim who wanted to settle for just $100,000 |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/lawyers-acting-for-church-run-up-15m-bill-against-victim-who-wanted-to-settle-for-just-100000/news-story/2564a7b63013d191f0afb00b7c1e86c8|access-date=22 July 2025|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]]|location=Sydney}}</ref>

===Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse===

In late 2012, the Australian federal government established a [[Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse]]. Pell welcomed the inquiry and said "We think this is an opportunity to help the victims, it's an opportunity to clear the air and separate fact from fiction." He said there had been a persistent "press campaign against the Catholic Church".<ref name="News.com.au-2012">{{Cite news |date=13 November 2012 |title=Defiant Cardinal George Pell says sex abuse royal commission will 'separate fact from fiction' |url=http://www.news.com.au/national/defiant-cardinal-george-pell-says-sex-abuse-royal-commission-will-separate-fact-from-fiction/story-fndo4eg9-1226515895912 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221093747/http://www.news.com.au/national/defiant-cardinal-george-pell-says-sex-abuse-royal-commission-will-separate-fact-from-fiction/story-fndo4eg9-1226515895912 |archive-date=21 December 2012 |access-date=29 January 2013 |work=News.com.au |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref> The commission conducted hearings between 2013 and 2017. Pell gave evidence on three occasions to the royal commission, beginning in March 2014 in Sydney and via video link from the Vatican in August 2014 and in February/March 2016.<ref name="SBS News-2017" />

In his 2012 Christmas address Pell said he felt "shock and shame" at revelations of crime and wrongdoing that were completely contrary to Christ's teaching. Pell called the crimes and wrongdoings "disasters". He said he was "deeply sorry this has happened" and told his listeners to "help those who have been hurt".<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 December 2012 |title=Pell says sorry to abuse victims in Christmas message |url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-12-24/pell-says-sorry-to-abuse-victims-in-christmas-message/1065272 |work=Radio Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Owens|first1=Jared|last2=Perpitch|first2=Nicolas|ref=none|date=24 December 2012 |title=Pell apology 'a cultural shift' for Catholic church over child sex abuse |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/gillard-abbott-use-christmas-message-to-thank-troops-abroad/story-fngburq5-1226543052604 |access-date=29 January 2013 |newspaper=[[The Australian]]|agency=[[Australian Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 December 2012 |title=Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell says sorry to victims of clergy abuse |url=http://www.news.com.au/national/catholic-archbishop-of-sydney-cardinal-george-pell-says-sorry-to-victims-of-clergy-abuse/story-fncynjr2-1226542753298 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127105905/http://www.news.com.au/national/catholic-archbishop-of-sydney-cardinal-george-pell-says-sorry-to-victims-of-clergy-abuse/story-fncynjr2-1226542753298 |archive-date=27 January 2013 |access-date=29 January 2013 |work=News.com.au |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 December 2012 |title=Cardinal Pell's Christmas message |url=http://media.smh.com.au/news/national-news/cardinal-pells-christmas-message-3911373.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310130608/http://media.smh.com.au/news/national-news/cardinal-pells-christmas-message-3911373.html |archive-date=10 March 2014 |access-date=29 January 2013 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |format=streaming video}}</ref>

====Comments upholding the Seal of Confession====
The announcement of the royal commission was accompanied by calls from some quarters for relaxing the requirement of confidentiality in confessions, known as the [[Seal of Confession]], which has been upheld by the Catholic Church since the 5th century. It is protected under [[Australian law]] in such statutes as the Evidence Act 1995 (which also provides protections for lawyers, journalists and spouses).<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Tovey |first1=Josephine |last2=Coorey |first2=Phillip |date=15 November 2012 |title=Jail threat for clergy who hide abuse |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/jail-threat-for-clergy-who-hide-abuse-20121114-29cps.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=EVIDENCE ACT 1995 – SECT 127 Religious confessions |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ea199580/s127.html |access-date=11 January 2023 |publisher=Commonwealth Consolidated Acts}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mimmo, Rocco |title=Confessional also has protection of the law |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/confessional-also-has-protection-of-the-law/news-story/fc8a5fed813c53e6ad213a1875818480 |work=The Australian}}</ref> When Pell was asked whether he thought that a priest who hears the confession of someone who has committed child sex abuse must remain bound by the Seal of Confession, he replied:<ref name="News.com.au-2012" /><ref name="Sales, Leigh-2012">{{Cite news |last=Sales, Leigh |author-link=Leigh Sales |date=13 November 2012 |title=Archbishop Pell reacts to abuse inquiry |url=https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3632078.htm |access-date=29 January 2013 |work=7.30 Report |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia |format=transcript}}</ref><ref name="Perpitch, Nicolas-2012">{{Cite news |last1=Owens|first1=Jared|last2=Perpitch|first2=Nicolas|ref=none|date=14 November 2012 |title=Confessions still sacrosanct, says Cardinal George Pell |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/confessions-still-sacrosanct-says-cardinal-george-pell/story-fngburq5-1226516219054 |access-date=29 January 2013|newspaper=[[The Australian]]}}</ref><ref name="Coorey, Phillip-2012">{{Cite news |last1=Tovey, Josephine |last2=Coorey, Phillip |date=14 November 2012 |title=Abuse confessions should not be secret: O'Farrell |url=https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/abuse-confessions-should-not-be-secret-ofarrell-20121113-29aii.html |access-date=29 January 2013 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

{{blockquote|If that is done outside the confessional (it can be reported to the police) ... (But) the Seal of Confession is inviolable. If the priest knows beforehand about such a situation, the priest should refuse to hear the confession ... That would be my advice, and I would never hear the confession of a priest who is suspected of such a thing.}}

The ABC reported that the comment "met with disapproval", citing Catholic politician [[Barry O'Farrell]] who told Parliament that confessions should not be secret.<ref name="News.com.au-2012" /><ref name="Sales, Leigh-2012" /><ref name="Perpitch, Nicolas-2012" /><ref name="Coorey, Phillip-2012" />

====Accusations of misconduct====

Criticisms of Pell's conduct and manner towards victims and perpetrators have been aired in the Australian media and considered at the royal commission. His appearances before the royal commission were met with intense public interest in Australia. He was heckled from the public galleries. Pell has complained of unfair treatment from the media and "relentless character assassination".<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 June 2017 |title=George Pell granted leave by Pope to fight historical sexual assault offences |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/george-pell-to-take-leave-to-fight-charges-in-australia/8664516 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref>

An [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] article by Debi Marshall included suggestions Pell had ignored accounts of physical and child sexual abuse and covered up such abuse. Marshall raised the allegation that Pell had attempted to "bribe" a victim.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Debi |title=The girls, the paedophile and Cardinal Pell |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/feature/girls-paedophile-and-cardinal-pell |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227085454/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/feature/girls-paedophile-and-cardinal-pell |archive-date=27 February 2016 |work=SBS News |publisher=SBS}}</ref> However, Pell was cross-examined by Counsel Assisting Gail Furness over the widely publicised statement that in 1993, he attempted to bribe David Ridsdale into silence when Ridsdale called him about the historical misconduct of his child-molesting priest uncle [[Gerald Ridsdale]]. In her final submission, Furness conceded that the allegation was unlikely to be an accurate interpretation of Pell's intent, as it was already known that Gerald Ridsdale was under investigation by police, and David Ridsdale was requesting a private process and not suggesting he wanted to go to police.<ref name="Furness SC-2016">{{Cite report |url=http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=054dca4c-6ff0-4b39-b772-75e7296e14b3&type=transcriptpdf&filename=Submissions-of-Counsel-Assisting&fileextension=pdf |title=Case Study 28 – Catholic Church Authorities in Ballarat – Submissions of Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission |last1=Furness SC |first1=Gail B. |last2=Stewart SC |first2=Angus |date=10 June 2016 |publisher=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse |last3=Free |first3=Stephen |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815101708/http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=054dca4c-6ff0-4b39-b772-75e7296e14b3&type=transcriptpdf&filename=Submissions-of-Counsel-Assisting&fileextension=pdf |archive-date=15 August 2017}}</ref>

The royal commission also considered evidence of Pell's "knowledge of rumours, allegations or complaints of [[Edward Dowlan]]'s sexual abuse of children in Ballarat", also raised in Marshall's article. One witness said he had gone to "Pell's presbytery" in Ballarat to warn him about Dowlan. Pell submitted evidence that he did not live in Ballarat or in that presbytery at the time, and the counsel-assisting said in her final submission that "Cardinal Pell's evidence about his living arrangements and duties in 1973 and 1974 make it less likely that he was at St Patrick's presbytery late in the afternoon on a week day."<ref name="Furness SC-2016" />

====March 2014 appearance====

In 2014, the royal commission was told how lawyers representing Pell and the Archdiocese of Sydney incurred costs of A$1.5&nbsp;million against a victim of child sexual abuse. The lawyers, acting on the church's instructions, "vigorously" fought John Ellis through the courts despite warnings of his "fragile psychological state". The resulting [[New South Wales Court of Appeal]] ruling established the controversial "Ellis Defence", which confirmed that the church could not be sued as a legal entity and held liable for child sexual abuse committed by a priest in such matters. Eventually, Ellis received $568,000 from the church. In a statement to the royal commission in March 2014, Pell reversed his earlier stance in support of the defence, saying: "My own view is that the Church in Australia should be able to be sued in cases of this kind."<ref name="Benns-2014" />

In his 2014 appearance, Pell used an analogy of a trucking company: "If the truck driver picks up some lady and then molests her, I don't think it's appropriate, because it is contrary to the policy, for the ownership, the leadership of that company to be held responsible."<ref name="Why Pell and the Church are the target of so much rage-2016">{{Cite news |date=18 February 2016 |title=Why Pell and the Church are the target of so much rage |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-18/bradley-why-pell-and-the-church-are-the-target-of-so-much-anger/7178974 |access-date=18 February 2016 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> He was widely criticised for this remark.<ref name="2014-RC-appearance">{{Cite news |last=Culzac |first=Natasha |date=23 August 2014 |title=Australian Cardinal George Pell offends truckers with sex abuse analogy |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australian-cardinal-george-pell-offends-truckers-with-sex-abuse-analogy-9687523.html |access-date=20 February 2016 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 August 2014 |title=Truckers outraged by Cardinal George Pell's sex abuse comparison |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/22/truckers-outraged-by-cardinal-george-pells-sex-abuse-comparison |access-date=20 February 2016 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref name="IrishCentral-2014">{{Cite news |date=23 August 2014 |title=Top Vatican cleric compares child sex abuse to a trucker molesting a woman |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/news/Top-Vatican-cleric-compares-child-sex-abuse-to-a-trucker-molesting-a-woman.html |access-date=20 February 2016 |work=IrishCentral}}</ref><ref name="Herald Sun-2015">{{Cite news |date=20 May 2015 |title=Cardinal George Pell told in 1970s of claims of abuse, royal commission hears |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/cardinal-george-pell-told-in-1970s-of-claims-of-abuse-royal-commission-hears/news-story/63384e51b2da00862b0309855276b914 |access-date=17 February 2016 |work=Herald Sun}}</ref> The president of Adults Surviving Child Abuse, [[Cathy Kezelman]], called his comments "outrageous", saying that they denied the experience of victims. Nicky Davis, from the [[Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests]] (SNAP), said that Pell had made a "highly offensive" comparison.<ref name="IrishCentral-2014" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dodd |first=Liz |date=22 August 2014 |title=Australian cardinal angers abuse victims |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1089/1/australian-cardinal-angers-abuse-victims |access-date=20 February 2016 |website=The Tablet |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303000722/http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1089/1/australian-cardinal-angers-abuse-victims |url-status=dead }}</ref> Michael Bradley, writing in his weekly column for [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]], said "Yes, it was mind-blowingly insensitive to draw that analogy and to so blithely refer to 'some lady'. But there was a much bigger hole. In the world according to Pell, if the Catholic Church has a policy that tells its priests not to rape children then, if they still do so, the Church cannot be held accountable."<ref name="Why Pell and the Church are the target of so much rage-2016" />

====2016 appearance====
Pell appeared before the Royal Commission in February and March 2016 by video link from a hotel in Rome because his heart condition made travel to Australia inadvisable, according to Commission chair Justice Peter McClellan, who ruled on the issue, a ruling opposed by Nicky Davis, an advocate for sexual abuse survivors.<ref name="ABC too ill">{{Cite news |date=5 February 2016 |title=Cardinal George Pell 'too ill' to travel from Rome for child sex abuse inquiry |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-05/cardinal-george-pell-too-ill-to-child-sex-abuse-inquiry-lawyers/7140584 |access-date=17 February 2016 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref name="ABC too ill OK">{{Cite news |date=8 February 2016 |title=George Pell excused from giving evidence at child sexual abuse royal commission in person |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-08/george-pell-excused-from-giving-evidence-in-person/7149012 |access-date=17 February 2016 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> "Paul O'Dwyer SC, a counsel for abuse survivors, renewed his application for the Cardinal's medical records to be made public."<ref name="ABC too ill OK" /> After the announcement that Pell would testify from Rome in 2016, a [[GoFundMe]] campaign was launched to fund a trip to Rome by 15 victims of child sexual abuse to see Pell give evidence in person. It reached its target of A$55,000 in one day, doubled that the following day and trebled the day after.<ref name="ABC gofundme">{{Cite web |date=16 February 2016 |title=George Pell: Abuse survivors to travel to Rome for Cardinal's testimony after crowdfunding campaign |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-16/crowdfunding-campaign-to-send-ballarat-survivors-to-rome/7174664 |access-date=17 February 2016 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref name="Tim Minchin-2016">{{Cite news |date=17 February 2016 |title=Tim Minchin's Cardinal George Pell song hurting abuse victims, Jesuit priest says |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-17/priest-says-tim-minchin-song-hurting-abuse-survivors/7178606 |access-date=17 February 2016 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> Comedian and musician [[Tim Minchin]] wrote and recorded the strongly-worded song "Come Home (Cardinal Pell)", with all proceeds to go to the gofundme campaign. Within 24 hours it had over 400,000 views on YouTube and became the number one position on the iTunes song chart in Australia.<ref name="Tim Minchin-2016" /><ref>{{YouTube|EtHOmforqxk|"Come Home (Cardinal Pell)" – Tim Minchin}}</ref> In the event, Pell's testimony was witnessed by 15 victims of child sexual abuse and their supporters.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Craw |first=Victoria |date=29 January 2016 |title=Cardinal George Pell to face Royal Commission from Rome Hotel |url=http://www.news.com.au/world/cardinal-george-pell-to-face-royal-commission-from-rome-hotel/news-story/eedb68ac94ae0b397e10ac5089348e95 |access-date=7 July 2017 |work=news.com.au}}</ref>

Having sworn on the Bible, Pell stated that he did not think the problems with child sexual abuse were with the institutional structure of the Catholic Church. "The Church has made enormous mistakes and is working to remedy those", he said. "The Church in many places, certainly in Australia, has mucked things up, has let people down. I'm not here to defend the indefensible."<ref name="MSN-2016">{{Cite web |date=29 February 2016 |title=Church 'mucked up with paedophile priests: Vatican finance chief |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/church-mucked-up-with-paedophile-priests-vatican-finance-chief/ar-BBq7UUn?li=BBnbfcL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302235446/http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/church-mucked-up-with-paedophile-priests-vatican-finance-chief/ar-BBq7UUn?li=BBnbfcL |archive-date=2 March 2016 |access-date=29 February 2016 |publisher=MSN}}</ref> Counsel assisting the royal commission alleged that there were also wider problems with the church's hierarchy in Australia and Rome and beyond, which they thought he understated or sidestepped.<ref name="MSN-2016" /> Regarding the allegations of children, he said that "the predisposition was not to believe" and that the instinct was to protect the church.<ref name="Cardinal George Pell tells child sexual abuse royal commission Catholic Church made-2016">{{Cite news |date=29 February 2016 |title=Cardinal George Pell tells child sexual abuse royal commission Catholic Church made 'enormous mistakes' |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-29/george-pell-says-catholic-church-made-'enormous-mistakes'/7206676 |access-date=29 February 2016 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref> He said: "Too many of them certainly were dismissed and sometimes they were dismissed in absolutely scandalous circumstances ... They were very, very, very plausible allegations made by responsible people that were not followed up sufficiently."<ref name="Cardinal George Pell tells child sexual abuse royal commission Catholic Church made-2016" /> Pell also stated that the way Gerald Ridsdale was dealt with was "a catastrophe for the victims and a catastrophe for the church". Referring to rumours of child sexual abuse he added: "in those days", he said, "if a priest denied such activity, I was very strongly inclined to accept the denial".<ref name="Cardinal George Pell tells child sexual abuse royal commission Catholic Church made-2016" />

In June 2016 the Holy See Press Office director [[Federico Lombardi]] announced that Pell would continue in his role as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, despite being obliged to submit his resignation on turning 75. Lombardi reminded reporters that Pope Francis had previously expressed his full confidence in Pell, and that Francis wished him to continue as prefect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pentin |first=Edward |date=8 June 2016 |title=Cardinal Pell Turns 75, Pope to Keep Him on as Vatican Finance Chief |url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-pell-turns-75-pope-to-keep-him-on-as-vatican-finance-chief/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609143613/http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-pell-turns-75-pope-to-keep-him-on-as-vatican-finance-chief |archive-date=9 June 2016 |access-date=11 June 2016 |publisher=EWTN News, Inc. |newspaper=National Catholic Register}}</ref>

====Gerald Ridsdale====
Pell served as an assistant priest at St Alipius' Church in Ballarat East and, in 1973, shared a house with [[Gerald Ridsdale]], a priest who was later laicised and jailed for child sex crimes.<ref name="Herald Sun-2015" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Callinan, Roy |date=27 May 2015 |title=Catholic Church's worst paedophile Gerald Ridsdale was unleashed on Sydney's southern beaches |url=https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/catholic-churchs-worst-paedophile-gerald-ridsdale-was-unleashed-on-sydneys-southern-beaches-20150525-gh8yfp.html |access-date=1 March 2016 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Ridsdale was convicted between 1993 and 2017 of child sexual abuse and [[indecent assault]] charges against children aged as young as four years during the 1970s and 1980s, with the 79 known victims thought to be a small proportion of his actual total.<ref name="Franklin">{{Cite journal |last=Franklin, J. |year=2015 |title=Gerald Ridsdale, pedophile priest, in his own words |url=https://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/franklinridsdale.pdf |journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society |pages=219–230 |number=36}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 August 2017 |title=Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale gets more jail time for abusing 12 kids |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-31/paedophile-priest-gerald-ridsdale-sentenced-over-new-offences/8858576 |access-date=31 December 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref name="abc-guilty-plea">{{Cite news |date=7 August 2006 |title=Former priest pleads guilty to child abuse |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/08/07/1708350.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526075044/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/08/07/1708350.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 May 2008 |access-date=25 November 2009 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2014 |title=Victims of paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale felt dirty, scared and confused, court told |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-18/victim-of-paedophile-priest-felt-dirty2c-scared-and-confused2/5328526 |access-date=21 May 2015 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> Pell was part of a leadership group of priests in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat|Diocese of Ballarat]] who met during 1982 and discussed moving Ridsdale from the parish at {{VICcity|Mortlake}} and sending him to Sydney.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Akerman, Tessa |date=20 May 2015 |title=Priest Gerald Ridsdale's abuse 'no secret' in parish |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/priest-gerald-ridsdales-abuse-no-secret-in-parish/story-fngburq5-1227360754133 |access-date=22 May 2015 |work=The Australian}}</ref> Pell denied knowing about any of Ridsdale's actions.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Devic, Aleks |date=29 November 2013 |title=Predator priest Gerald Ridsdale found victims wherever the Catholic Church moved him across Australia |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/predator-priest-gerald-ridsdale-found-victims-wherever-the-catholic-church-moved-him-across-australia/story-fni0ffnk-1226771780738 |access-date=22 May 2015 |work=Herald Sun}}</ref>

In March 2016, when asked by the royal commission why he had agreed to walk Ridsdale into the courthouse in Melbourne during his 1993 criminal trial, Pell responded, "I had some status as an auxiliary bishop and I was asked to appear with the ambition that this would lessen the term of punishment, lessen his time in jail." Peter Saunders, the victims' advocate and a former Catholic priest, said that Pell's response "demonstrates once again the callousness, the coldheartedness and the contempt that George Pell appears to display for this whole issue and particularly for the victims of these dreadful crimes".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hawkins, Derek |date=29 June 2017 |title=Sex abuse scandal has followed Cardinal George Pell for decades |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/29/sex-abuse-scandal-has-followed-cardinal-george-pell-for-decades/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

In 2002 on ''[[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|60 Minutes]]'', David Ridsdale, a victim of child sexual abuse in Ballarat and a nephew of Gerald Ridsdale, accused Pell of attempting to bribe him in 1993 to prevent allegations of child sexual abuse being made public.<ref name="Furness SC-2016" /> The allegation was examined at the royal commission and received further wide publicity.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Jane |date=21 May 2015 |title=Royal commission told Cardinal George Pell tried to buy victim's silence about abuse |url=https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/royal-commission-told-cardinal-george-pell-bribed-victim-to-stay-silent-about-abuse-20150520-gh5r7t.html |access-date=22 May 2015 |work=The Age}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Donovan |first=Samantha |date=20 May 2015 |title=Royal Commission hears Cardinal Pell offered victim bribe to keep clerical sex abuse quiet |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-20/royal-commission-hears-cardinal-pell-offered/6485170 |access-date=18 May 2017 |work=PM |publisher=ABC Local Radio |location=Australia |format=transcript}}</ref> However, Gail Furness, a counsel-assisting the royal commission, conceded in her final submission to the commission that, given it was already known to Pell that Gerald Ridsdale was subject to police investigation and that David Ridsdale had requested a "private" rather than police process, "it is not likely that Bishop Pell would then have thought it necessary to offer Mr Ridsdale an inducement to prevent him from going to the police or public with his allegations" and Ridsdale could have "misinterpreted Bishop Pell's offer of assistance".<ref name="Furness SC-2016" />

====Commission conclusions====

On 7 May 2020, the royal commission revealed its findings regarding Pell, which had been made by 2017 but were withheld while Pell's own sexual abuse case was ongoing.<ref name="Cardinal Pell-2020">{{Cite news |date=7 May 2020 |title=Cardinal Pell 'knew of' clergy abuse, says Australian royal commission |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-52569092 |access-date=8 May 2020 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Report of Case Study No. 28: Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat |url=https://caroyalcomm.govcms.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/un-redacted_report_of_case_study_28_-_catholic_church_authorities_in_ballarat.pdf |access-date=8 May 2020 |publisher=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse |archive-date=12 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512012006/https://caroyalcomm.govcms.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/un-redacted_report_of_case_study_28_-_catholic_church_authorities_in_ballarat.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Report of Case Study No. 35: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne |url=https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/un-redacted_report_of_case_study_no._35_-_catholic_archdiocese_of_melbourne_-.pdf |access-date=8 May 2020 |publisher=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse\}}</ref> concluding that Pell knew of child sexual abuse by clergy by the 1970s, but did not take adequate action to address it. Pell responded that the commission's views "are not supported by evidence".<ref name="Cardinal Pell-2020" />

For the case of Gerald Ridsdale, while Pell was a priest in Ballarat, the commission concluded that "in 1973 Father Pell turned his mind to the prudence of Ridsdale taking boys on overnight camps", with child sexual abuse "on his radar, in relation to" Ridsdale. The commission concluded that "by 1973, Cardinal Pell was not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy, but he also considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it".<ref name="Cardinal Pell-2020" /><ref name="Davey-2020">{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Melissa |date=7 May 2020 |title='He should have done more': key findings from the newly released George Pell reports |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/07/he-should-have-done-more-key-findings-from-the-newly-released-george-pell-reports |access-date=8 May 2020 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

For the case of Peter Searson, while Pell was an auxiliary bishop in Melbourne, the commission concluded that given the information Pell had in 1989, he "should have advised the Archbishop to remove Father Searson and he did not do so". Pell had told the commission that, in 1989, he received a list of grievances about Searson. The list included statements that Searson had harassed children, parents and school staff, used children's toilets without cause, shown children a dead body and practised animal cruelty. The commission concluded that it "ought to have been obvious" to Pell that he needed to have Searson removed, while rejecting Pell's statement that he had been "deceived" regarding Searson's case by education officials. Pell removed Searson in 1997 when he had become the archbishop.<ref name="Davey-2020"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 May 2020 |title=Pell knew of abuse by paedophile priest: inquiry |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pell-knew-of-abuse-by-pedophile-priest-inquiry-20200507-p54qps |access-date=8 May 2020 |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tate |first=Andrew |date=8 May 2020 |title=Royal Commission redactions: The horrors that church and George Pell let slide |url=https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/george-pell/2020/05/08/royal-commission-george-pell-peter-searson/ |access-date=8 May 2020 |work=The New Daily}}</ref>

For the case of Wilfred James Baker, while Pell was the Archbishop of Melbourne, the commission concluded that Pell had the power to remove Baker in August 1996 when he learned that Baker was about to be charged. Pell did not remove Baker then, resulting in Baker continuing as a priest in a parish with a primary school until May 1997.<ref name="Davey-2020"/> Baker was jailed in 1999 for child sexual abuse.<ref name="Sonali">{{Cite news |last=Paul |first=Sonali |date=7 May 2020 |title=Australian inquiry finds Cardinal Pell knew of child sex abuse |url=https://reuters.com/article/uk-australia-abuse-pell/australian-inquiry-found-pell-should-have-reported-child-sex-abuse-idUKKBN22J19D |access-date=8 May 2020 |publisher=Reuters}}</ref>

==Allegations of child sexual abuse==
{{See|Pell v The Queen}}
=== 2002 allegation ===

In June 2002, a Melbourne man named Phil Scott<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church grapples to come to terms with Pell conviction |url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11439/church-grapples-to-come-to-terms-with-pell-conviction-}}</ref> accused Pell of sexually abusing him at a Catholic youth camp in 1961, when the accuser was 12 years old and Pell was a young [[Seminary|seminarian]]. Pell denied the accusations and stood aside while the inquiry continued.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fonseca |first=Michele |date=22 August 2002 |title=Catholic church reeling from sex abuse claims |url=https://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s656348.htm |access-date=8 August 2011 |work=PM |publisher=ABC Local Radio |location=Australia |format=transcript}}</ref> The complainant agreed to pursue his allegations through the church's own process for dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct, the National Committee for Professional Standards. Retired Victorian Supreme Court Justice [[Alec Southwell]], appointed commissioner by the church to [[Southwell inquiry|investigate the matter]], found that the complainant, despite his long criminal record, had mostly given the impression of speaking honestly from actual recollection but concluded as follows: "bearing in mind the forensic difficulties of the defence occasioned by the very long delay, some valid criticism of the complainant's credibility, the lack of corroborative evidence and the sworn denial of the respondent, I find I am not 'satisfied that the complaint has been established{{' "}}.<ref name="Southwellreport">{{Cite report |url=http://www.catholic.org.au/statements/pell_judgement.htm |title=Report of an Inquiry into an allegation of sexual abuse against Archbishop George Pell |last=Southwell |first=A. J. |date=14 October 2002 |publisher=National Committee for Professional Standards (Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference) |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20021020140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/31212/20021021-0000/www.catholic.org.au/statements/pell_judgement.htm |archive-date=20 October 2002}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="Burke-2002" /> Pell said he had been exonerated, while the complainant's solicitor said his client had been vindicated.<ref name="Burke-2002">{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Kelly |date=15 October 2002 |title=Exonerated, not forgotten |url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/14/1034561100662.html |access-date=8 August 2011 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

===Victoria Police investigations===

In March 2013, [[Victoria Police]] launched Operation Tethering to investigate whether Pell had committed an unreported crimes: without having received any complaints<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 March 2018 |title=Police had started George Pell taskforce 'before any crime was reported' |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-28/george-pell-committal-detectives-single-mindedly-pursued-charge/9597312 |access-date=29 March 2018 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> they advertised in newspapers for complainants<ref>{{cite web |title=Frank Brennan SJ: Pell was a sting operation |url=https://melbournecatholic.org/news/frank-brennan-sj-pell-was-a-sting-operation |website=Melbourne Catholic |language=en-AU}}</ref> finally succeeding in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marks |first1=Russell |title=George Pell’s days of reckoning |url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/law-crime/2019/06/08/george-pells-days-reckoning/15599160008259 |website=The Saturday Paper |language=en |date=8 June 2019}}</ref> 

On 20 February 2016, the ''[[Herald Sun]]'' newspaper reported that Pell had been under investigation for the past year by detectives from the Victoria Police SANO Taskforce over sexual abuse allegations involving between five and ten boys that occurred between 1978 and 2001 when he was a priest in Ballarat and when he was Archbishop of Melbourne.<ref name="Morris-Marr-2016">{{Cite news |last=Morris-Marr |first=Lucie |date=20 February 2016 |title=Victoria Police investigating Cardinal Pell |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria-police-investigating-cardinal-pell/news-story/09609ca949fdb490842fd72d73faf779 |access-date=27 July 2017 |work=Herald Sun}}</ref> His office issued a statement denying the allegations, and asked for an inquiry into the leaking of information by Victoria Police officers.<ref name="Morris-Marr-2016" /> Victoria Police remained silent on whether Pell was being investigated.<ref name="Morris-Marr-2016" /> The SANO Taskforce was established in 2012 to investigate allegations arising from the Victorian Government's ''Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations'' and the subsequent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.<ref name="Morris-Marr-2016" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wells |first=Rachel |date=30 November 2012 |title=Police launch sex abuse taskforce |url=https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/police-launch-sex-abuse-taskforce-20121130-2amu1.html |access-date=27 July 2017 |work=The Age}}</ref>

On 28 July 2016, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, [[Graham Ashton]], confirmed that there was an investigation into alleged child sexual abuse by Pell, and stated he was awaiting advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 July 2016 |title=George Pell subject of Victoria Police investigation into multiple allegations of sexual abuse |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-27/victoria-police-investigating-george-pell-over-abuse-complaints/7664674 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728235521/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-27/victoria-police-investigating-george-pell-over-abuse-complaints/7664674 |archive-date=28 July 2016 |access-date=27 July 2016 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Cowie |first1=Tom |last2=Bourke |first2=Latika |date=28 July 2016 |title=Victoria's top cop says sex abuse charges against George Pell still a possibility |url=https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victorias-top-cop-says-sex-abuse-charges-against-george-pell-still-a-possibility-20160727-gqffih.html |access-date=29 July 2016 |work=The Age}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Milligan |first=Louise|author-link=Louise Milligan|ref=none|date=27 July 2016 |title=George Pell investigated over multiple allegations of sexual abuse |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2016/s4508646.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822203622/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2016/s4508646.htm |archive-date=22 August 2016 |access-date=17 August 2016 |work=7.30 |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia}}</ref> On 17 August 2016, Victoria Police said a response had been received from the DPP, but would not disclose the DPP's recommendations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carmody |first=Broede |date=17 August 2016 |title=Police set to interview Cardinal George Pell |url=https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/police-set-to-interview-cardinal-george-pell-20160816-gqu7qu.html |access-date=17 August 2016 |work=The Age}}</ref>

In October 2016, three Victoria Police officers from the SANO Task Force flew to Rome to interview Pell, who participated voluntarily, regarding allegations of sexual assault.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Milligan |first=Louise|author-link=Louise Milligan|ref=none|date=27 October 2016 |title=George Pell voluntarily interviewed by Victoria Police in Rome over historic child abuse allegations |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-26/cardinal-george-pell-interviewed-by-victoria-police-in-rome/7966266 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702062050/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-26/cardinal-george-pell-interviewed-by-victoria-police-in-rome/7966266 |archive-date=2 July 2017 |access-date=26 July 2017 |work=[[7.30]]|publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia}}</ref> In February 2017, Victoria Police advised that the brief of evidence against Pell had been returned to the Office of Public Prosecutions. That office subsequently provided advice to Victoria Police in May 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Akerman |first=Tessa|ref=none|date=7 February 2017 |title=George Pell accusations sent to prosectors a second time |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/royal-commission/george-pell-accusations-sent-to-prosectors-a-second-time/news-story/4c3b977c2fe0efad6a99c8876dc33543 |access-date=27 July 2017 |work=The Australian}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 May 2017 |title=Victoria Police receive legal advice on Pell investigation |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/05/16/victoria-police-receive-legal-advice-pell-investigation |access-date=27 July 2017 |work=SBS News |publisher=Special Broadcasting Service}}</ref>

=== Trial, conviction and acquittal ===
The sequence of legal proceedings was:

* Melbourne Magistrates' Court: plea hearing
* Melbourne Magistrates' Court: committal hearing
* County Court of Victoria: directions hearing
* County Court of Victoria: "Swimmers trial"
** Case withdrawn for insufficient evidence
* County Court of Victoria: "Cathedral trial" #1
** Jury unable to reach verdict
* County Court of Victoria: "Cathedral trial" #2 (re-trial)
** Guilty verdict
** Pell incarcerated
** Supreme Court of Victoria
*** Appeal not allowed 
*** High Court of Australia
**** [[Pell v The Queen|Appeal allowed. Conviction quashed.]] Pell released.

==== Initial charges and hearings ====
On 29 June 2017, Victoria Police announced they were charging Pell with a series of sexual assault offences with several counts and several victims.<ref name="George Pell-2017" /> At a press conference in Rome, Pell denied the allegations.<ref name="ABC29-2">{{Cite news |last=Lord |first=Kathy |date=29 June 2017 |title=George Pell granted leave by Pope to fight historical sexual assault offences |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/george-pell-to-take-leave-to-fight-charges-in-australia/8664516 |access-date=29 June 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref name="ABC29-3Pope">{{Cite news |date=29 June 2017 |title=George Pell: Cardinal addresses media after being charged with sexual assault offences |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/george-pell-media-conference/8663432 |access-date=30 June 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> Pell left the Vatican in July and voluntarily returned to Australia to face trial.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baidawi, Adam |date=10 July 2017 |title=Cardinal George Pell Returns to Australia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/world/australia/cardinal-george-pell-sexual-offenses.html |access-date=26 March 2019 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Singhal |first=Pallavi |date=10 July 2017 |title=Cardinal George Pell returns to Australia to face historical sex abuse charges |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/cardinal-george-pell-returns-to-australia-to-face-historical-sex-abuse-charges-20170710-gx7usn.html |access-date=26 March 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Details of the charges were not made public.

On 26 July 2017, Pell appeared at the [[Melbourne Magistrates' Court]] and entered a [[plea]] of not guilty. He was represented by barrister [[Robert Richter (lawyer)|Robert Richter]].<ref name="Younger-2017">{{Cite news |last=Younger |first=Emma |date=26 July 2017 |title=George Pell faces Melbourne Magistrates' Court on historical sexual offence charges |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-26/pell-faces-melbourne-court-over-sexual-offence-charges/8741502 |access-date=26 July 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 July 2017 |title=George Pell to attend court hearing on historical sexual assault charges |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-24/george-pell-to-appear-at-court-hearing/8738732 |access-date=26 July 2017 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref> An application by the media seeking public disclosure of the details of the charges was refused by the [[magistrate]].<ref name="Younger-2017" /> At a procedural hearing in November, Pell's lawyers requested documents from [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]&nbsp;journalist [[Louise Milligan]] and [[Melbourne University Press]] relating to Milligan's book ''Cardinal: the Rise and Fall of George Pell'' which was published in early 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Percy |first=Karen |date=23 November 2017 |title=Cardinal George Pell's legal team requests documents from ABC journalist Louise Milligan, book publisher |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/george-pell-legal-team-requests-documents-from-abc-journalist/9183594 |access-date=9 January 2018}}</ref>

In the Ballarat case, in January 2018 one of the accusers Damian Dignan died after a long illness.<ref name="dignan_bbc">{{Cite news |last=<!-- Staff writer, no byline. --> |date=8 January 2018 |title=Cardinal Pell: Man who accused cleric of abuse dies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-42599628 |access-date=1 September 2019 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Melissa |date=8 January 2018 |title=George Pell accuser dies before cardinal faces child sexual abuse trial |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/08/george-pell-accuser-dies-before-cardinal-faces-child-sexual-abuse-trial |access-date=8 January 2018 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Dignan's charge was withdrawn.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 March 2018 |title=Prosecutors withdraw one charge against Cardinal George Pell |url=https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/03/02/pell-charge-withdrawn/ |access-date=2 March 2018 |work=The New Daily}}</ref> Pell's lawyers requested but were denied the personal medical information of the complainants.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 February 2018 |title=Cardinal George Pell's lawyers denied access to more accusers' medical records |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/21/cardinal-george-pells-lawyers-denied-access-to-more-accusers-medical-records |access-date=21 February 2018 |work=Guardian Australia |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref> Pell's defence was reported to be based on questioning the timing of allegations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 February 2018 |title=Cardinal Pell's lawyers to try to prove accusations are a 'recent invention' |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-27/cardinal-pells-lawyers-lawyers-will-question-his-accusers/9489642 |access-date=27 February 2018 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> Some other charges were dropped after a complainant was ruled medically unfit to give evidence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 March 2018 |title=A number of charges against George Pell to be dropped |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-23/george-pell-committal-a-number-of-charges-to-be-dropped/9581972 |access-date=29 March 2018 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref>

The [[committal hearing]] to determine whether there was enough evidence to commit Pell to stand trial commenced on 5 March 2018.<ref name="Younger">{{Cite news |last=Younger |first=Emma |title=Cardinal George Pell appears at Melbourne Magistrates' Court to fight historical sexual offence allegations |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-06/george-pell-at-court-historical-sexual-offence-allegations/9021596 |access-date=7 October 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref name="SBS News-2017-2">{{Cite news |date=7 October 2017 |title=Four-week court hearing for Cardinal Pell |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/07/four-week-court-hearing-cardinal-pell |access-date=7 October 2017 |work=SBS News |agency=Australian Associated Press}}</ref> The hearing allowed for approximately fifty witnesses to give evidence, including former choirboys.<ref name="Deery-2017">{{Cite news |last=Deery |first=Shannon |date=6 October 2017 |title=Cardinal George Pell expected to return to Melbourne court over historic sexual offence charges |url=http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/cardinal-george-pell-expected-to-return-to-melbourne-court-over-historic-sexual-offence-charges/news-story/7b23c7bcd6f577e621a23cad09f43e94 |access-date=7 October 2017 |work=Herald Sun}}</ref><ref name="Younger" /> The magistrate allowed Pell's barrister to cross-examine all but five witnesses.<ref name="Younger" /> Pell's barrister said the allegations involving St Patrick's Cathedral were impossible.<ref name="Deery-2017" /><ref name="SBS News-2017-2" /><ref name="AustOct17">{{Cite news |last=Akerman |first=Tessa|ref=none|date=7 October 2017 |title=50 witnesses to be called in Cardinal George Pell hearing |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/50-witnesses-to-be-called-in-cardinal-george-pell-hearing/news-story/582aa8f0ff2a7fb9048aa411dbf04ab1 |access-date=7 October 2017 |work=The Australian}}</ref>

[[Police magistrate|Magistrate]] Belinda Wallington concluded that there was enough evidence for the case to proceed on about half of the charges. On 1 May 2018, Pell was committed to stand trial on several charges of sexual offending.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 May 2018 |title=Cardinal Pell ordered to stand trial on sexual assault charges |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-43957330 |access-date=3 May 2018 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-01/cardinal-george-pell-court-decision/9713630 Cardinal George Pell pleads not guilty to historical sexual offence charges after being committed to stand trial]; Australian Broadcasting Corporation</ref> Pell entered pleas of not guilty.<!--ref name=committaldecision /--><ref name="guardian101">{{Cite news |date=1 May 2018 |title=Cardinal George Pell will stand trial over historical sexual offence charges – live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/may/01/cardinal-george-pell-committal-trial-historical-sexual-offence-charges-live |work=Guardian Australia}}</ref> As a bail condition, Pell was not permitted to leave Australia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Younger, Emma |date=1 May 2018 |title=Cardinal George Pell faces directions hearing after being committed to stand trial |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-02/cardinal-george-pell-directions-hearing/9717184 |access-date=2 May 2018 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cowie, Tom |date=1 May 2018 |title=Treated like any other accused: George Pell's life of extremes |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/treated-like-any-other-accused-george-pell-s-life-of-extremes-20180501-p4zcnt.html |access-date=3 May 2018 |work=The Age}}</ref>

On 2 May 2018, Pell appeared in the [[County Court of Victoria]] for a directions hearing before Judge Sue Pullen. It was agreed that he would undergo two separate trials with two separate juries and that the charges would be heard separately for each trial. He was to be tried in relation to allegations of sexual offences taking place at [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne]], in 1990 in the first case (the cathedral trial) and in relation to further allegations taking place at a Ballarat swimming pool in the 1970s in the second case (the swimmers trial).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper, Adam |date=2 May 2018 |title=George Pell set to face two trials over historical assault allegations |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/george-pell-set-to-face-two-trials-over-historical-assault-allegations-20180502-p4zct9.html |access-date=3 May 2018}}</ref> Prosecutors sought a [[Gag order#Australia|media ban]] on reporting on the trials until the verdict in the second trial.<ref name="Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance-2019">{{Cite news |date=2 May 2019 |title=Suppression orders |url=https://pressfreedom.org.au/suppression-orders-c237df7dfee5 |access-date=24 April 2020 |work=Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance}}</ref> A suppression order was subsequently issued by Chief Judge [[Peter Kidd]] on 25 June 2018.<ref name="suppression">Suppression order:
*{{Cite web |title=DPP v Pell (Suppression Order) [2018] VCC 905 (25 June 2018) |url=https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VCC/2018/905.html |access-date=29 April 2023 |via=[[Australasian Legal Information Institute]]}}
*{{cite web |author1=Chief Judge Kidd |title=Proceeding Suppression Order (page 1) |url=https://michaelsmithnews.typepad.com/.a/6a0177444b0c2e970d022ad380e7db200c-800wi |publisher=County Court of Victoria |access-date=24 April 2020 |date=25 June 2018|ref=none|postscript=;}} [https://michaelsmithnews.typepad.com/.a/6a0177444b0c2e970d022ad380e7d7200c-800wi page 2]</ref> The purpose of the order was to prevent prejudice to Pell caused by jurors in the swimmers trial knowing the outcome of the cathedral trial.<ref name="suppression" /><ref name="Younger-2019">{{Cite news |last=Younger |first=Emma |date=27 February 2019 |title=George Pell's trial for child sexual abuse was held in secret. This is why |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pell-trial-why-cardinal-court-case-held-in-secret/10233118 |access-date=24 April 2020 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref>

====Cathedral trials====
=====First trial=====
Pell's first trial for the allegations of misconduct in St Patrick's Cathedral began in August 2018 under Chief Judge Kidd with representation by [[Robert Richter (lawyer)|Robert Richter]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 August 2020 |title=Defending George Pell: 'I believe Pell's a good man' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/04/defending-george-pell-i-believe-pells-a-good-man |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> However, it ended with the jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict. This necessitated a retrial, with another jury.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/27/inside-the-pell-trial-we-sat-in-court-for-months-forbidden-from-reporting-a-word Inside the Pell trial: we sat in court for months, forbidden from reporting a word]; ''The Guardian''.co; 27 February 2019</ref> 
=====Re-trial=====
A retrial was conducted, again under Kidd. On 11 December 2018, Pell was convicted on five counts of child sexual abuse of two boys in the 1990s.<ref name="guilty verdict"/>

Australian media outlets generally respected the suppression order preventing publication of details on the cathedral trial whereas international news sources reported the conviction.<ref name="Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance-2019" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cartwright |first=Lachlan |date=11 December 2018 |title=Vatican No. 3 Cardinal George Pell Convicted on Charges He Sexually Abused Choir Boys |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/vatican-no-3-cardinal-george-pell-on-trial-for-historical-child-sex-charges |access-date=16 December 2018 |work=The Daily Beast}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Cave |first1=Damien |last2=Albeck-Ripka |first2=Livia |date=13 March 2019 |title=How We Reported on the Cardinal Pell Sex Abuse Case That for Months Was Kept Secret From the Public |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/reader-center/cardinal-pell-sex-abuse-reporting.html |access-date=24 April 2020 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> The Melbourne-based ''[[Herald Sun]]'' posted on its front page "CENSORED" in large print in protest of the ban, noting that international sources were reporting on a "very important story that is relevant to Victorians".<ref name="Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance-2019" /><ref name="Younger-2019" /> In a statement made to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[Noah Shachtman]], editor-in-chief of the online news magazine ''[[The Daily Beast]]'', consulted with American and Australian lawyers but ultimately considered it an "easy call" to report on the conviction, though he did place [[geo-blocking]] restrictions to prevent online access to the story from Australia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Margaret |date=12 December 2018 |title=A top cardinal's sex-abuse conviction is huge news in Australia. But the media can't report it there. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-top-cardinals-sex-abuse-conviction-is-huge-news-in-australia-but-the-media-cant-report-it-there/2018/12/12/49c0eb68-fe27-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html |access-date=16 December 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> More than 140 international news reports were published within 24 hours. Pell's barrister informed Chief Judge Kidd that the guilty verdict was accessible on Wikipedia.<ref name="Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance-2019" />

====Swimmers trial: prosecution withdraws its case====
At the time of Pell's conviction in the cathedral trial, a second trial was pending regarding unrelated allegations that he sexually assaulted two boys while throwing them in the air in a Ballarat swimming pool in the late 1970s. These allegations had been raised by the ABC, leading to a Victoria Police investigation; however, Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges after Chief Judge Kidd on 22 February 2019 disallowed the prosecution's submission of evidence from complainants on the grounds that each piece of evidence was not sufficient.<ref>[https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nation/george-pell-swimming-pool-assault-charges-dropped/news-story/d7b26c3776bb3c926229bd1e2b4c277d George Pell swimming pool sexual assault charges dropped]; The Australian' 26 February 2019</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 February 2019 |title=DPP v Pell (Evidential Ruling No 1) [2019] VCC 149 |url=http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VCC/2019/149.html |access-date=24 April 2020 |website=Austlii |publisher=County Court of Victoria}}</ref> News of Pell's conviction was published in Australia on 26 February 2019 when the suppression order was lifted following the withdrawal.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davey, Melissa |date=26 February 2019 |title=George Pell: cardinal found guilty of child sexual assault |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/26/cardinal-george-pell-vatican-treasurer-found-guilty-of-child-sexual-assault |access-date=27 February 2019 |work=Guardian Australia}}</ref>

====Cathedral trial sentencing====
At a pre-sentencing hearing on 27 February 2019, Pell's bail was revoked and he was taken into custody at the [[Melbourne Assessment Prison]].<ref name="ABC News-2019">{{Cite web |date=27 February 2019 |title=George Pell remanded in custody after bail revoked at court hearing for child sex offences |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-27/george-pell-faces-court-after-conviction-for-abusing-choirboys/10852940 |access-date=27 February 2019 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> Pell's lawyers released a statement that Pell maintained his innocence, and advised that an appeal had been filed on three grounds.<ref name="ABC News-2019"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 February 2019 |title=Cardinal Pell to appeal verdict |url=https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/cardinal-pell-to-appeal-verdict/ |access-date=25 April 2020 |work=The Catholic Weekly}}</ref>

The sentencing hearing<ref name="sentencing">{{Cite web |title=Crime and Appeals List |url=https://www.countycourt.vic.gov.au/court-schedule/crime-and-appeals-list |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313051016/https://www.countycourt.vic.gov.au/court-schedule/crime-and-appeals-list |archive-date=13 March 2019 |access-date=13 March 2019 |publisher=County Court Victoria}}</ref> on 13 March 2019 was broadcast live to the public, with Chief Judge Kidd sentencing Pell to serve six years in jail with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DPP v Pell (sentence) [2019] VCC 260 (13 March 2019) |url=https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VCC/2019/260.html |access-date=29 April 2023 |website=Austlii}}</ref><ref name="9News-sentence-20190313">{{Cite news |last1=Rose, Tim |last2=Rugg, Eliza |last3=Ansell, Benjamin |date=14 March 2019 |title=George Pell alone, handcuffed and in the back of a prison van |url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/george-pell-sentencing-child-sex-abuse-live-coverage-catholic-church-news-melbourne/0b688a4f-89fc-4510-a3b0-c31ab7e78dd0 |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=9News}}</ref><ref name="broadcast">{{Cite news |title=Cardinal George Pell's fate to be broadcast live to the world |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/cardinal-george-pell-s-fate-to-be-broadcast-live-to-the-world |access-date=11 March 2019 |work=SBS News |language=en}}</ref> Pell was also registered as a sex offender.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sweeney, Karen |date=13 March 2019 |title=George Pell sentenced to six years in jail over sex abuse against teenage boys |url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/court-justice/george-pell-to-be-sentenced-over-sex-abuse-charges-teenage-boys-ng-b881133814z |access-date=13 March 2019 |work=PerthNow}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=13 March 2019 |title=George Pell's full sentencing, as issued by Chief Judge Peter Kidd |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-13/george-pells-full-sentencing,-as-issued-by-peter-kidd/10897650 |access-date=11 January 2023 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref> He served 404 days in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, before being acquitted.

===Appeal===
The Court of Appeal of the [[Supreme Court of Victoria]] heard pleadings for Pell being granted leave to appeal simultaneously with the appeal itself in June 2019. Pell was represented by [[Bret Walker]] SC. Three grounds of appeal were lodged: that the verdict was unreasonable, that permission to use in their closing address a visual aid prepared by the defence that illustrated the locations of people within the cathedral around the time of the first assault had been refused, and that Pell had not been arraigned in the presence of the jury as is required under standard criminal procedures in Victoria. Judgment was reserved, without setting a date to deliver the decision.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Adam |date=6 June 2019 |title=Judges weighing up appeal after Pell's victim named in court gaffe |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/judges-weighing-up-appeal-after-pell-s-victim-named-in-court-gaffe-20190606-p51vab.html |access-date=6 June 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Melissa |date=6 June 2019 |title=George Pell appeal: prosecutor struggles to answer judges' questions |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/06/george-pell-appeal-prosecutor-struggles-to-answer-judges-questions |access-date=6 June 2019 |work=Guardian Australia}}</ref>

On 21 August 2019, the Court of Appeal issued its ruling, which upheld the convictions.<ref name="Sterling Law-2019">{{Cite web |date=Aug 21, 2019 |title=George Pell's appeal against convictions dismissed |url=https://sterlinglawqld.com/george-pells-appeal-against-conviction-dismissed/ |access-date=5 April 2020 |website=Sterling Law}}</ref><ref name="VCA dismissal">VCA dismissal:
*{{Cite web |title=Pell v The Queen [2019] VSCA 186 (21 August 2019) |url=https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VSCA/2019/186.html |access-date=29 April 2023 |website=Austlii}}
*{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-21/george-pell-appeal-judgment-summary-transcript/11434304 |title=George Pell Victorian Court of Appeal judgment summary transcript |work=[[ABC News (Australia)]] |date=21 August 2019 |access-date=24 August 2019}}
*{{cite news|last=Albeck-Ripka |ref=none|first=Livia |title=Cardinal George Pell's Sexual Abuse Conviction Is Upheld|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=21 August 2019 |date=20 August 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/world/australia/cardinal-pell-appeal.html }}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2019/aug/21/cardinal-george-pell-appeal-sexual-assault-conviction|last=McGowan|ref=none|first=Michael|title=Cardinal George Pell loses appeal on child sexual assault conviction – live|work=Guardian Australia|date=21 August 2019|access-date=21 August 2019}}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/george-pell-appeal-live-cardinal-to-learn-if-he-will-walk-free-20190821-p52j4y.html|last1=Butt|ref=none|first1=Craig|last2=Cooper|first2=Adam|last3=Grieve|first3=Charlotte|title=George Pell appeal LIVE: Cardinal's appeal is dismissed|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=21 August 2019|access-date=21 August 2019}}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/cardinal-pell-the-highest-vatican-official-to-face-justice-over-abuse-appeals-guilty-verdict/2019/08/20/e9646c86-c2b6-11e9-8bf7-cde2d9e09055_story.html?noredirect=on |last=Patrick|first=A. Odysseus|ref=none|title=Court upholds convictions against highest-ranking Vatican official jailed on charges of child sex abuse|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=21 August 2019|access-date=21 August 2019}}</ref> The three-judge panel comprised Chief Justice [[Anne Ferguson (judge)|Anne Ferguson]], President of the Court of Appeal, Justice [[Chris Maxwell (jurist)|Chris Maxwell]] and Justice [[Mark Weinberg (judge)|Mark Weinberg]]. On the first ground of appeal, that the verdict was unreasonable, the court granted leave to appeal but dismissed the appeal by a majority (2–1) decision.<ref name="Sterling Law-2019" /><ref name="VCA dismissal" /> Ferguson and Maxwell dismissed the appeal. Ferguson stated that, for the appeal to succeed, the court needed to find that the jury ''must'' have had doubt as to the defendant's guilt, not merely that they ''could'' have had doubt. Weinberg issued a dissenting judgment and would have allowed the appeal on the first ground.<ref name="VCA dismissal" />

Whilst Ferguson and Maxwell stated that they did not experience a doubt in the case, Weinberg, the dissenting judge, likened the case to that of [[Lindy Chamberlain]], which had seen wrongful conviction by a jury and appeal court based on faulty evidence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 August 2019 |title=Dissenting judge used Lindy Chamberlain's case to dismiss guilty Pell verdict |url=https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/dissenting-judge-used-lindy-chamberlains-case-to-dismiss-guilty-pell-verdict/ar-AAGa8h1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019034430/https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/dissenting-judge-used-lindy-chamberlains-case-to-dismiss-guilty-pell-verdict/ar-AAGa8h1 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |access-date=11 January 2023 |publisher=MSN}}</ref><ref>[https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/case-summaries/court-of-appeal-proceedings/george-pell-v-the-queen "George Pell v The Queen"], Victorian Court of Appeal.</ref> Weinberg wrote that the applicant should be acquitted on each charge.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zhou |first=Naamam |date=21 August 2019 |title=He was a witness of truth: why the judges decided Cardinal George Pell was guilty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/21/he-was-a-witness-of-truth-why-the-judges-decided-cardinal-george-pell-was-guilty |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>[https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VSCA//2019/186.html "Pell v The Queen &#91;2019&#93;"], VSCA 186, 21 August 2019.</ref>

The court unanimously refused leave to appeal on the second and third grounds.<ref name="VCA dismissal" />

=== Acquittal ===
{{Main|Pell v The Queen}}
In September 2019, Pell sought special leave to appeal to the [[High Court of Australia]], the final court of appeal in Australia.<ref name="HCA appeal lodge ABCNews">{{Cite news |last=Farnsworth |first=Sarah |date=17 September 2019 |title=George Pell seeks leave to appeal child sex abuse convictions in High Court |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-17/george-pell-to-appeal-to-the-high-court/11437796 |access-date=17 September 2019 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Le Grand |first=Chip |date=20 September 2019 |title=Choirboy can be believed – and Pell freed, Cardinal's lawyers say |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/choirboy-can-be-believed-and-pell-freed-cardinal-s-lawyers-say-20190920-p52t8f.html |access-date=20 September 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Pell's lawyers submitted that Pell's conviction should be overturned on the basis that, in the face of exculpatory evidence, the Court of Appeal had relied on their belief in the complainant to eliminate doubt and uphold the conviction. The prosecution submission asserted that the appeal judgement had glossed over evidence that supported his conviction.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Henriques-Gomes |first=Luke |date=3 February 2020 |title=George Pell's appeal 'glosses over' evidence that supports conviction, DPP says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/03/george-pells-appeal-glosses-over-evidence-that-supports-conviction-dpp-says |access-date=3 February 2020 |work=The Guardian |location=London, England}}</ref> The appeal was heard on 11 and 12 March 2020 by a full bench of seven justices.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Melissa|ref=none|date=12 March 2020 |title=George Pell: high court reserves decision on granting special leave for an appeal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/12/george-pell-appeal-cardinals-lawyers-question-victorian-judges-decision-to-watch-video-evidence |access-date=12 March 2020 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

On 7 April 2020, in a unanimous judgment, the High Court allowed the appeal, quashing Pell's convictions and determining that judgments of acquittal be entered in their place.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Apr 7, 2020 |title=George Pell convictions quashed on appeal to High Court |url=https://sterlinglawqld.com/george-pell-convictions-quashed-on-appeal-to-high-court/ |access-date=30 November 2021 |website=Sterling Law}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Melissa|ref=none|date=7 April 2020 |title=George Pell: Australian cardinal to be released from jail after high court quashes child sex abuse conviction |url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/07/cardinal-george-pell-conviction-quashed-australia-high-court-freed-jail-appeal-upheld |access-date=7 April 2020|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London, England}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 April 2020 |title=Court quashes Cardinal Pell's abuse convictions |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-52183157 |access-date=7 April 2020 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Le Grand |first=Chip |date=7 April 2020 |title=Pell to walk free after High Court overturns conviction |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pell-to-walk-free-after-high-court-overturns-conviction-20200407-p54hqe.html |access-date=7 April 2020 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=11 April 2020 |title=Travesty of justice: 'trusted' institutions fail Pell, public |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/travesty-of-justice-trusted-institutions-fail-pell-public/news-story/04a4dabedeb056f5c6d83d37fed07f01 |url-access=limited |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=The Australian}}</ref> The court agreed with Weinberg's judgment in the Court of Appeal, finding that the majority might have effectively reversed the burden of proof.<ref name="HCA judgment">{{cite AustLII|HCA|12|2020|litigants=Pell v The Queen|date=7 April 2020}}</ref> The court found that the jury ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant's guilt,<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 April 2020 |title=Judgment Summary: Pell v The Queen [2020] HCA 12 |url=https://cdn.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2020/hca-12-2020-04-07.pdf |access-date=11 April 2020}}</ref> given that the prosecution had not attempted to rebut Pell's alibi witnesses.  In their judgment, the judges said with respect to all five charges that, "Making full allowance for the advantages enjoyed by the jury, there is a significant possibility ... that an innocent person has been convicted."<ref>{{cite AustLII|HCA|12|2020|pinpoint=119, 127|litigants=Pell v The Queen|date=7 April 2020}}</ref>

=== Reactions after acquittal ===

==== Criticism of ABC's Pell coverage ====

Following Pell's acquittal, prior media coverage of his case came under intense scrutiny. Australia's national broadcaster, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC), was accused of sustained bias against Pell both before and during the trial and appeals.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 April 2020 |title=ABC backs its reporting on George Pell after Andrew Bolt accuses it of a witch-hunt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/08/abc-backs-its-reporting-on-george-pell-after-andrew-bolt-accuses-it-of-a-witch-hunt |work=The Guardian |location=London, England}}</ref> Pell said the ABC had betrayed the national interest in overwhelmingly presenting a single view of the case, and that he was a target because of his socially conservative views.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=14 April 2020 |title=George Pell says 'culture wars' contributed to him being wrongfully jailed for child sexual abuse |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-14/cardinal-george-pell-andrew-bolt-sky-news-interview/12146594 |access-date=27 April 2020 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>

The ABC dismissed criticisms of its coverage and defended its pursuit of Pell as having been without fear or favour.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McMurtrie |first=Craig |date=11 April 2020 |title=Why the ABC's reporting of the George Pell case wasn't a witch-hunt |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/about/backstory/news-coverage/2020-04-11/why-the-abc-reporting-of-the-pell-case-was-not-a-witch-hunt/12137620 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> After criticism that its documentary series ''[[Revelation (TV series)|Revelation]]'' (which presented Pell as guilty) had been timed to coincide with the High Court decision, the ABC denied rushing the program, but temporarily removed it from its digital platform to allow the producers to include reference to Pell's acquittal and subsequent release from [[Barwon Prison]]. The series was restored to ABC's digital platform and went on to win the [[Walkley Awards|Walkley Documentary Award]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 April 2020 |title=Correction to Greg Craven's column in The Australian |url=https://about.abc.net.au/correcting-the-record/correction-to-greg-cravens-column-in-the-australian/ |work=The [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Amanda Meade |date=9 April 2020 |title=ABC to re-edit and restore George Pell episode of Revelation as News Corp goes on attack |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/09/abc-to-re-edit-and-restore-george-pell-episode-of-revelation-as-news-corp-goes-on-attack |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The ABC noted that ''Revelation'' had actually been pushed back several days due to Prime Minister [[Scott Morrison]] making a televised address to the nation regarding the [[COVID-19 outbreak in Australia|COVID-19 outbreak]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Revelation episodes 2 & 3 to air next week |url=https://about.abc.net.au/media-room/revelation-episodes-2-3-to-air-next-week/ |website=About the ABC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2020 |title=Schedule Update – REVELATION to air over two nights next week on ABC |url=https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2020/03/25/2020-3-25-schedule-update-revelation-to-air-over-two-nights-next-week-on-abc-2/}}</ref>

==== Criticism of Victorian criminal justice system ====

Criticism of the conduct of Victoria Police, the DPP and the Court of Appeal judges resulted from the High Court verdict. Right-wing commentator [[Keith Windschuttle]] published a book, ''The Persecution of George Pell'', arguing that Pell had faced a concerted campaign by Victorian police, judiciary and victims' advocates to convict him on flimsy evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grace |first=Damian |year=2020 |title=Review of ''The Persecution of George Pell'' |url=https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/grace.pellreview.pdf |journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society |volume=41 |pages=167–170 |access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref>

==== Criticism of the High Court's verdict ====

In response to support for the acquittal, legal scholar Jeremy Patrick wrote that it is for juries to decide if they accept evidence in whole or part, not judges. He pointed out that the acquittal did not happen because the High Court "heard stunning new exonerating evidence, had found an error in law by the trial judge on a crucial point, realised there was jury misconduct, or anything of that sort. Instead, it heard the exact same evidence and the exact same arguments that were made at trial, and simply reached a different conclusion than the jury on contested matters of fact and credibility." However, its conclusion was flawed by "[an] unquestioning belief in the defendant’s witnesses, an illogical ‘probabilistic’ analysis of a discrete, unreplicable historical event, and an eager willingness to substitute their own opinion for the jury’s verdict because it reached the ‘wrong’ outcome."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Patrick |first=Jeremy |date=2023 |title=Respect for juries: A rejoinder to Hemming on ''Pell'' |url=https://research.usq.edu.au/item/wq86v/respect-for-juries-a-rejoinder-to-hemming-on-pell |journal=[[Alternative Law Journal]]|volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=116–119 |doi=10.1177/1037969X231159431 |issn=1037-969X|doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Media charges ===
In January 2021, the [[Supreme Court of Victoria]] heard charges against 27 media companies, reporters and editors with offences, mainly contempt of court, for their coverage of the Pell verdict by breaching the suppression order and the subjudice rule{{mdash}}even though no outlet had named Pell in their coverage, but rather had published protests at the suppression order.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bucci |first=Nino |date=29 January 2021 |title=Pell contempt case: journalists under scrutiny after 27 charged over verdict's coverage |url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/30/pell-contempt-case-journalists-under-scrutiny-after-27-charged-over-verdicts-coverage |access-date=20 February 2021 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Twelve media companies{{mdash}}including the ''Herald Sun'', the ''Courier Mail'', the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Age'' (which was fined $450,000), [[News Corp Australia]] (which was fined $400,000) and [[Nine Entertainment Co.]] (whose other newspapers were fined $162,000){{mdash}}pleaded guilty to contempt of court and apologised. The companies were to receive fines and would pay $650,000 of the state's legal costs. In exchange for these guilty pleas, 15 charges against individual journalists were dropped.<ref>Sources:
* {{Cite news|date=28 January 2021|last=Bucci|first=Nino|title=Age editor tells court he believed legal advice allowed George Pell story to be published|url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/28/age-editor-tells-court-he-believed-legal-advice-allowed-george-pell-story-to-be-published|access-date=20 February 2021|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|ref=none}}
* {{Cite news|last=Bucci|first=Nino|date=11 February 2021|title=Media outlets guilty of contempt in George Pell trial didn't read suppression order or seek legal advice|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/feb/11/media-outlets-guilty-of-contempt-in-george-pell-trial-didnt-read-suppression-order-or-seek-legal-advice|access-date=20 February 2021|ref=none}}
* {{Cite news|date=10 February 2021|last=Bucci|first=Nino|title=George Pell contempt hearing: news companies to pay cost of prosecution|url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/10/george-pell-contempt-hearing-news-companies-to-pay-cost-of-prosecution|access-date=20 February 2021|newspaper=The Guardian|ref=none}}
* {{Cite web |date=1 February 2021 |title=Cardinal Pell case: Australian news outlets admit breaching legal ban |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55883738 |access-date=20 February 2021 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

Justice [[John Dixon (judge)|John Dixon]] found that the 12 organisations had usurped the role of the court; they had taken it upon themselves to determine where the balance ought to lie between Pell's [[right to a fair trial]] and the public's right to know. He did not accept their submission that their breach of the suppression order was an honest mistake. Rather, he found, in most cases the reporting demonstrated that the organisations disagreed with the suppression order and felt the media should not be restrained from reporting the outcome of the trial. Although media overseas had reported Pell's conviction, he thought that potential jury members for the second trial were likely to rely upon local media rather than an internet search and, in any case, overseas reporting did not affect the seriousness of Australian media's breach of the suppression order.<ref>Sources: 
* {{Cite news |last=McGowan |first=Michael |date=4 June 2021 |title=George Pell: news organisations fined more than $1m over reporting of sexual abuse verdict |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/04/cardinal-george-pell-news-organisations-contempt-court-fined-more-than-1m-over-reporting-of-sexual-abuse-verdict |access-date=4 June 2021 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|ref=none}}
* {{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/media-fined-a-combined-1-1m-for-contempt-of-court-breaches-in-pell-reports-20210604-p57y1d.html|last=Cooper|first=Adam|title=Media fined a combined $1.1m for contempt of court breaches in Pell reports|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=4 June 2021|access-date=5 June 2021|ref=none}}
* {{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/why-have-media-outlets-been-fined-more-than-1-million-for-their-pell-reporting-162173|last=Sarre|first=Rick|title=Why have media outlets been fined more than $1 million for their Pell reporting?|website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|date=4 June 2021|access-date=5 June 2021|ref=none}}
* {{cite news|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/media-outlets-fined-more-than-1m-over-cardinal-george-pell-reporting/news-story/22b2c7ddad0ed087c868890ae473ee5c|last=Akerman|first=Tessa|title=Media outlets fined $1m over Pell reports|newspaper=[[The Australian]]|date=5 June 2021|ref=none}} {{subscription required}}
* {{cite AustLII|litigants=The Queen v The Herald & Weekly Times Pty Ltd|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VSC//2021/253.html|source=VSC|num=253|year=2021|parallelcite=}}.</ref>

===2022 legal action===
In 2022, the father of a schoolboy who was allegedly abused by Pell launched legal action against Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 August 2022 |title=Catholic Church suffers setback as court rules lawsuit brought by Pell accuser's father can continue |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-24/catholic-church-george-pell-court-case-can-continue/101366566 |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> Following Pell's death, it was announced that the case would proceed, with the claim to be against the Melbourne archdiocese and Pell's estate.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kolovos |first=Benita |date=12 January 2023 |title=Father of ex-choirboy who George Pell was accused of abusing will proceed with Victorian lawsuit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/11/father-of-ex-choirboy-who-george-pell-was-accused-of-abusing-will-proceed-with-victorian-lawsuit |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The Melbourne archdiocese sought to prevent the lawsuit by appealing first to the [[Supreme Court of Victoria]], which in 2023 refused the appeal,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Australian Associated Press |title=Catholic church seeks to stop family's lawsuit over George Pell child abuse allegations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/08/george-pell-child-abuse-allegations-melbourne-catholic-church-lawsuit-seeking-to-stop-appeal |website=The Guardian |access-date=27 March 2024 |date=8 August 2023}}</ref> and then to the [[High Court of Australia]], which in 2024 allowed the lawsuit to proceed by refusing the plaintiff special leave to appeal.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Australian Associated Press |title=Catholic church loses high court bid to prevent father of alleged victim of George Pell suing for damages |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/08/catholic-church-loses-high-court-bid-to-prevent-father-of-george-pell-accuser-suing-for-damages |website=The Guardian |access-date=27 March 2024 |date=8 February 2024}}</ref>

=== National Redress Scheme findings ===

In 2025, the [[National Redress Scheme]] found that, when Pell was a priest in Ballarat in the 1970s, he had likely sexually abused two schoolboys. It was found "reasonably likely", a standard of proof lower than that in a criminal or civil court,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalredress.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2024-09/national-redress-scheme-a5-flipbook.pdf|author=National Redress Scheme|title=Understanding the National Redress Scheme|page=13}}</ref> that Pell had anally raped a boy aged nine in a school gymnasium and had genitally groped a boy aged eight during a game at a swimming pool. The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat]] disputed the allegations. The Scheme granted the compensations sought: to the older victim $95,000 and to the younger $45,000.<ref name="NRS-finding"></ref><ref name="NRS-finding-Guardian"></ref><ref name="SMH-redress"></ref>

==Writings==
Pell wrote widely in religious and secular magazines, including journals and newspapers in Australia and overseas.<ref name="ABC News-2003" /> He regularly spoke on television and radio.
* Pell, George (1972). ''The Sisters of St Joseph in Swan Hill 1922–72''<ref name=QA>[https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/cardinal-george-pell/10643240 "Cardinal George Pell"], ''[[Q+A (Australian talk show)|Q+A]]'', ABV TV</ref>
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/20295189?q&versionId=23968030 |title=Bread, Stones or Fairy Floss: Religious Education Today |publisher=Australian Catholic Truth Society Publications |year=1977 |location=Melbourne |type=pamphlet|author-mask=2|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |title=Are our secondary schools Catholic? |publisher=Australian Catholic Truth Society Publications |year=1979 |location=Melbourne |type=pamphlet |ref=none |author-mask=2}}
* {{Cite thesis |last=Pell|first=George |title=An Evaluation of the Goal of Moral Autonomy in the Theory and Practice of [[Lawrence Kohlberg]]|degree=Master of Education thesis |publisher=Monash University|doi=10.4225/03/597eca733a8dc|ref=none |author-mask=2 |location=Clayton, Melbourne |year=1982}}
* {{cite book|last=Pell|first=George|author-mask=2|year=1988|title=Catholicism in Australia|location=Bundoora, Victoria|publisher=La Trobe University|isbn=0731636864|ref=none}}<ref name=QA />
* {{cite book|last=Pell|first=George|author-mask=2|year=1992|title=[[Rerum Novarum]] – One Hundred Years Later|publisher=Boston University|isbn=9780872701007|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Pell|first=George |title=Issues of Faith and Morals |last2=Woods, Mary Helen |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-553978-3 |location=Melbourne |type=paperback |ref=none |author-mask=with}} For senior secondary classes and parish groups.
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |url=https://www.cis.org.au/events/catholicism-and-the-architecture-of-freedom-archbishop-george-pell |title=Catholicism and the Architecture of Freedom |publisher=Centre for Independent Studies (Australia) |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-86432-044-2 |series=The Inaugural [[Acton Lecture on Religion and Freedom]] |location=St Leonards, Sydney |page=14 |format=oration |ref=none |author-mask=2 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327151541/http://www.cis.org.au/events/catholicism-and-the-architecture-of-freedom-archbishop-george-pell/ |archive-date=27 March 2019}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |title=Be not afraid: collected writing |publisher=Duffy & Snellgrove |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-876631-97-0 |editor-last=Livingstone, Tess |location=Sydney |type=paperback |ref=none |author-mask=2}} A collection of homilies and reflections.
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |title=God and Caesar: Selected Essays on Religion, Politics, and Society |publisher=Connor Court |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8132-1503-7 |editor-last=Casey, M. A. |location=Ballan, Victoria |type=paperback |ref=none |author-mask=2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |title=Test Everything: Hold Fast to What Is Good |publisher=Connor Court |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-9214-2137-2 |editor-last=Livingstone, Tess |location=Ballan, Victoria |type=paperback |ref=none |author-mask=2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |title=Prison Journal, Volume One: The Cardinal Makes His Appeal, 27 February–13 July 2019 |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2020 |isbn=9781621644484 |location=San Francisco |type=paperback |ref=none |author-mask=2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |title=Prison Journal, Volume Two: The State Court Rejects the Appeal, 14 July 2019–30 November 2019 |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781621644507 |location=San Francisco |type=paperback |ref=none |author-mask=2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pell|first=George |title=Prison Journal, Volume Three: The High Court Frees an Innocent Man |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781621644514 |location=San Francisco |type=paperback |ref=none |author-mask=2}}
* {{cite book|last=Pell|first=George|author-mask=2|year=2023|title=Pell Contra Mundum|editor=[[Robert Sirico|Robert A. Sirico]]|others=[[Oswald Gracias]], Danny Casey, [[George Weigel]]|publisher=Connor Court|isbn=9781922815743|language=en,it,es,fr|ref=none}}

==Distinctions==

===Orders===
* {{flag|Holy See}}: [[File:OESSG Cavaliere di Gran Croce BAR.jpg|60px]] Knight Grand Cross (2001) [[Grand Prior]] of the [[New South Wales]] Lieutenancy of the [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic)|Order of the Holy Sepulchre]] (2001-2013),<ref name="ABC News-2003">{{Cite web |date=October 2003 |title=Meet George Pell, Australia's Newest Cardinal |url=http://www.abc.net.au/religion/stories/s956918.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404052916/http://www.abc.net.au/religion/stories/s956918.htm |archive-date=4 April 2018 |access-date=4 July 2017 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref> Grand Prior of the Australian Lieutenancy – Southern of the [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic)|Order of the Holy Sepulchre]] (1998–2001)
* {{flagu|Australia}}: [[File:AUS Order of Australia (civil) BAR.svg|60px]] [[Companion of the Order of Australia]] ([[2005 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)|2005]]) for service to the [[Catholic Church in Australia]] and internationally, to raising debate on matters of an ethical and spiritual nature, to education and to social justice.<ref name="QB2005Gazette">{{Cite news |date=2005-06-13 |title=The Queen's Birthday 2005 Honours: The Governor-General is pleased to announce the following appointments and awards |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240489112 |access-date=2023-01-12 |work=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National : 1977–2012) |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 June 2005 |title=Pell, Eminence Cardinal George: Companion of the Order of Australia |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1135850 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129122941/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1135850 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |access-date=24 May 2015 |website=It's an Honour |publisher=Australian Government}}</ref>{{efn|On 21 August 2019, the Prime Minister of Australia, [[Scott Morrison]], said that he plans to follow precedent and see that a recommendation is made to the Governor-General that this honour be revoked after Pell lost his appeal against his sexual abuse convictions.<ref name="PMonAC-Trial">{{Cite news |last=Karp |first=Paul |date=27 February 2019 |title=PM to strip George Pell of Order of Australia honour if cardinal loses appeal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/27/pm-to-strip-george-pell-of-order-of-australia-if-cardinal-loses-appeal |access-date=1 April 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The Governor-General also issued a statement noting that such a conviction is grounds for termination of an appointment to the Order of Australia but also declaring that no action will be taken until the appeals process is completed.<ref name="AC GG won't revoke ABC">{{Cite web |date=21 August 2019 |title=Governor-General won't revoke honours before Pell's legal bids 'run their course' |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-21/cardinal-george-pell-child-sex-abuse-convictions-appeal-decision/11432066 |access-date=21 August 2019 |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref name="CT20190821">{{Cite news |last=McCulloch, Daniel |date=21 August 2019 |title=George Pell's Australian honours in doubt |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6340417/george-pells-australian-honours-in-doubt/?cs=14231 |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=The Canberra Times}}</ref>}}

===Awards===
* {{flagu|Australia}}: [[File:AUS Centenary Medal ribbon.svg|60px]] [[Centenary Medal]] (2001) for service to Australian society through the Catholic Church.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 January 2001 |title=Pell, George: Centenary Medal |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1135850 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129122941/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1135850 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |access-date=24 May 2015 |website=It's an Honour |publisher=Australian Government}}</ref>

===Other===
* [[File:Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem - Grand Cross.png|60px]] Ecclesiastical [[Grand Cross]] and Ecclesiastical Grand Cross of Merit of the ''Malta-Paris obedience'' of the [[Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910)]] (2003) for longstanding commitment to [[ecumenism]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cardinal George Pell, EGCLJ GCMLJ |url=http://www.st-lazarus.org.au/pdf/CARDINAL%20GEORGE%20PELL%20bio.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228160504/http://st-lazarus.org.au/pdf/CARDINAL%20GEORGE%20PELL%20bio.pdf |archive-date=28 February 2015 |access-date=24 May 2015 |publisher=Grand Priory of Australia, a Jurisdiction of the Military and Hospitaller [[Order of Saint Lazarus]] of Jerusalem}}</ref> and service as National Chaplain (2001).

==See also==
* [[Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Victoria]]
* [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]]
* [[Sexual abuse cases in the Congregation of Christian Brothers]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Notelist|45em}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Livingstone, Tess |title=George Pell |date=2002 |publisher=Duffy & Snellgrove |isbn=978-1-876631-52-9 |location=Potts Point, New South Wales |ref=none}} {{Cite book |last=Livingstone, Tess|author-link=0|title=George Pell: Defender of the Faith Down Under |date=2004 |publisher=Ignatius Press |isbn=978-0-89870-984-1 |edition=American |location=United States |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Marr |first=David |title=The Prince: Faith, Abuse and George Pell |publisher=[[Schwartz Publishing|Black Inc. Books]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-863-95616-1 |volume=51 |location=Carlton, Victoria |ref=none |author-link=David Marr (journalist)|series=[[Quarterly Essay]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Milligan|first=Louise|author-link=Louise Milligan|title=Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell |date=2017 |publisher=Melbourne University Publishing |isbn=978-0-522-87135-7 |location=Melbourne |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Morris-Marr, Lucie |title=Fallen: the inside story of the secret trial and conviction of Cardinal George Pell |last2=Foster, Chrissie |date=2019 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-1-76087-605-0 |location=Sydney |ref=none |author-link2=Chrissie Foster}}
* {{Cite news|last=Wang |first=Jessica |date=11 January 2023 |title=George Pell death: From jail to release, a timeline of the Cardinal's biggest controversies |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/george-pell-death-from-jail-to-release-a-timeline-of-the-cardinals-biggest-controversies/news-story/a3fe35819f5e804240087486b7c9b541 |newspaper=[[The Australian]]|ref=none}}
* Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2015) – ''Report of Case Study No. 16 – The Melbourne Response''
* Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017a) – ''Report of Case Study No. 28 – Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat''
* Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017b) – ''Report of Case Study No. 35 – Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne''

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Cite web |title=Pell Card. George |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_pell_g.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904063515/http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_pell_g.html |archive-date=4 September 2017 |access-date=26 November 2017 |publisher=Holy See Press Office}}
* {{Cite web |title=Cardinal George Pell |url=https://www.sydneycatholic.org/past-bishops/#archbishops |website=Biography |publisher=Archdiocese of Sydney}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Marion Francis Forst]]}}
{{s-tul|title=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Scala|Titular Bishop of Scala]]|years=30 March 1987 – 16 July 1996}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edward Joseph Adams]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Frank Little (bishop)|Frank Little]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne|Archbishop of Melbourne]]|years=16 July 1996 – 26 March 2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Denis Hart|Denis James Hart]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Clancy (cardinal)|Edward Bede Clancy]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney|Archbishop of Sydney]]|years=26 March 2001 – 24 February 2014}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Anthony Fisher|Anthony Colin Fisher]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ignacio Antonio Velasco García]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello, Rome|Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello]]|years=21 October 2003 – 10 January 2023}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Stephen Brislin]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-new|dicastery}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretariat for the Economy|Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy]]|years=24 February 2014 – 24 February 2019}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{RCArchbishopsofSydney}}
{{Roman Catholic Archbishops of Melbourne}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|New South Wales|Australia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, George}}
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[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)]]
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[[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Melbourne]]
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[[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Melbourne]]