The funeral mass for controversial Australian Cardinal George Pell was held at St. Mary in Sydney accompanied by a large police presence and accompanied by protests. Pell, who died in Rome three weeks ago, was the highest-ranking minister in the history of the Catholic Church to be convicted of child molestation. In 2020, however, he was acquitted on appeal after about 13 months in prison and released from prison.
Thousands gathered at the church on Thursday to say goodbye, according to media reports. Many watched the Requiem on the screens in front of the cathedral. “Even after he was unanimously exonerated by the Supreme Court, some continued to demonize him,” said Archbishop Anthony Fisher, who celebrated the Mass. However, Pell left a great legacy and was “the most influential clergyman in the nation’s history”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Regional Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet did not attend the Mass. The Australian government ruled out a state funeral shortly after Pell’s death.
Emergency services created a buffer zone between mourners and protesters. “We’re not here to cause trouble, we’re here to draw attention to abuse, that’s all,” one protester told the AAP news agency. The organizer of the demonstration said that the participants would follow the instructions of the police. “We want a strong, loud, vibrant and visible demonstration to confront everything that Pell stood for,” he said. The cardinal has also been criticized for his conservative stance on issues such as gay marriage and abortion rights.
His coffin was placed in the cathedral on Wednesday. Since then, many people have attached colorful ribbons to a fence in memory of victims of abuse. Mourners reportedly tried to overthrow them. There was tension for a short time.
Pell, number three in the Vatican for years, has died aged 81 after routine surgery. After the requiem mass, he would be buried in the cathedral’s crypt.