AFP, published on Thursday, February 02, 2023 at 09:55
Protesters on Thursday denounced the conservative views of Australia’s Cardinal George Pell, who died in January, at a high funeral mass organized by the Sydney Catholic Church, which commemorated his “remarkable legacy”.
George Pell, who died in Rome on January 11 at the age of 81, was buried in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney after a mass and papal burial in accordance with the traditions of the church.
Outside the cathedral, where a large police presence was stationed, demonstrators shouted “shame” at people who came to attend the ceremony.
Bishop Pell, once considered the third most influential man in the Vatican, continues to divide Australia.
His followers have lauded this modern-day “saint,” but for victims of sexual violence in the Church, his death has brought back painful memories.
Bishop Pell, the target of a series of scandals in the final years of his life, spent 13 months behind bars in the 1990s for abusing two altar boys.
The prelate, who was convicted at first instance and then on appeal, was finally acquitted by the Australian High Court on a case of doubt and released in 2020.
Thousands of people waited in front of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Thursday to pay their respects.
Riot police set up barricades to block access to protesters who waved banners across the street that read “Pell Burns in Hell.”
– Solemn Ceremony –
One of them was Dianne Jacobus, a victim of sexual abuse. Alongside the ceremony, she and other protesters tied ribbons to the cathedral railings in solidarity with other church victims. Some of Cardinal Pell’s supporters have responded by attaching rosaries to the same ribbons.
“It’s about children,” criticizes Dianne Jacobus. “I was abused by a priest when I was 16. How can you honor someone who turned a blind eye?”.
Additionally, at the beginning of his funeral, Community Action for Rainbow Rights held a protest against Cardinal Pell, condemning his ultra-conservative stance on same-sex marriage.
Archbishop Pell had specifically stated that homosexuality was “a far greater health hazard than smoking”. He had also refused to give Communion to homosexual believers when he was Archbishop of Sydney.
The protests are “disgusting,” said 63-year-old economist William Coleman. For him, the prelate was an unjustly persecuted “good man”. Other mourners also wondered if his time in prison had hastened his death.
Bishop Pell had acknowledged that the church was “too slow to respond to the fear” of victims of sexual violence and that it had “very imperfectly addressed the problem”.
The tense scenes outside contrast with the solemn ceremony taking place inside the cathedral.
Catholic Church officials said the funeral was the “biggest” ever held at St Mary’s Cathedral in central Sydney.
Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher has compared George Pell to medieval Crusader King of England Richard the Lionheart, known as a fierce warrior.
“Twenty-three days ago the lion’s roar was unexpectedly silenced,” said Mr. Fisher in his eulogy.
“But George the lion-hearted was clothed with the cross on his chest and ready to await the return of his master.”
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a longtime friend, said the prelate was a “Christian warrior” and a “saint of our time”.
Cathedral Dean Father Don Richardson praised Pell’s “remarkable legacy” while Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher called him a “valiant leader”.
Coming from a humble background, George Pell rose higher in the ranks of the Catholic Church than any Australian before him. In 2014, as the Vatican’s economic secretary, he was tasked with rooting out corruption in the Church.
Although he was acquitted by the courts, a separate inquiry indicated that he disregarded allegations of sexual abuse during his rise to power in the Australian Catholic Church.
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