Category Archives: George Pell

Catholic church seeks to stop family’s lawsuit over George Pell child abuse allegations

Posted on by

Melbourne archdiocese challenges legal ruling that would allow father of a choirboy to sue for damages

The Catholic church is seeking to challenge a legal ruling in Victoria that would allow the father of a choirboy to sue for damages over allegations of child sexual abuse by Cardinal George Pell.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, filed a claim against the Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne and Pell. He claims to have suffered nervous shock after learning of allegations that Pell sexually abused his now deceased son in the mid-1990s.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

George Pell funeral: hundreds protest outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney

Posted on by

LGBTQ+ protesters condemn cardinal’s record on same-sex marriage, women’s rights and protecting children from clergy abuse

Hundreds of people have marched in protest outside Cardinal George Pell’s funeral service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, with heated exchanges between his detractors and admirers.

Campaign group Community Action for Rainbow Rights (Carr) planned the protest through Sydney to the cathedral on the day of Pell’s requiem mass, in condemnation of his opposition to same-sex marriage and women’s rights, and his failure to protect children from widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic church.

Continue reading...

George Pell funeral: Tony Abbott praises cardinal as a ‘saint for our times’ and rails against child abuse charges

Posted on by

Former PM says the cardinal was ‘the greatest man I’ve ever known’, likening his treatment to a ‘modern-day crucifixion’

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has described George Pell, a man found to have failed to act on knowledge of child abuse, as “the greatest man I’ve ever known”, likening him to a saint and comparing his treatment to “modern-day crucifixion”.

Abbott spoke at Pell’s funeral on Thursday and variously described him as “one of our country’s greatest sons”, a “great hero” and a “saint for our times”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Capsule found after ‘needle in a haystack’ search – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, spoke to ABC AM Radio from London following a meeting with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

Marles would not be drawn into whether he discussed with Sunak the possibility of Australia acquiring British built nuclear submarines under the Aukus deal but said when the announcement is made it will be a “genuinely trilateral effort.”

Prime Minister Sunak commented on just how full the agenda is between our two countries and how much that is making – perhaps our oldest and most historic relationship – one which is deeply relevant in in the contemporary moment and certainly Aukus is central to that.

And we’re close to announcement and I’m not about to preempt that now. But I think what you’ll see is when we ultimately do announce the optimal pathway that we’ve been working on with both the United States and United Kingdom, that what it really is, is a genuinely trilateral effort to see by the UK and the US provide Australia with a nuclear powered submarine capability.

We’re confident that what we will be announcing in the coming weeks is a pathway that will be able to be delivered by all partners on time.

Continue reading...

George Pell funeral: removing abuse victims’ ribbons is wrong, former church official says

Posted on by

Advocates furious the church keeps removing ribbons intended to give voice to survivors of clergy abuse

Francis Sullivan, the former head of the Catholic church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council, says the removal of ribbons commemorating abuse survivors from St Mary’s Cathedral appears designed to prevent the scandal from being “associated with Cardinal [George] Pell” in the days leading up to his funeral.

Survivors and their supporters are furious that the church is continually removing ribbons they have tied to the fence surrounding Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral before the requiem mass planned for Pell on Thursday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NSW MP to contest election despite husband’s death – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Australian Open CEO reflects on ‘very difficult journey’

Australian Open 2023 kicks off at Melbourne Park this morning.

A Balmain pub crawl

Craft breweries around Marrickville

The Corinthian restaurant for Greek food in Marrickville

Continue reading...

Church v state: Daniel Andrews’ candid comments after George Pell’s death reflect a long-held stance

Posted on by

Victorian MPs are adamant the premier’s views are based on principle, not political instincts

Responding to the death of George Pell – a staunch conservative found guilty and then acquitted of child sexual abuse – is inevitably a political minefield. But Daniel Andrews and the Victorian government chose to go where others didn’t.

Mere minutes after the Vatican confirmed the cardinal’s death at the age of 81, the government minister Steve Dimopoulos acknowledged the news could be triggering for survivors of child sexual abuse.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Bushfire in Adelaide Hills; PM says ‘we’ve got the balance right’ on climate policy changes – as it happened

Posted on by

Firefighters prepared for a long night battling an out-of-control blaze near Montacute in the Adelaide Hills. This blog is now closed

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has responded to the admission of the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, that he wore a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party.

At a press conference just finished in Townsville, Albanese said had been in PNG but had seen the statements from the NSW premier.

I have observed his statements. That’s a matter for him, and then for others who’ll make judgments based upon the premier’s explanation.

These banknotes were sent to our Majura Forensic Facility to undergo specialist fingerprint development in a purpose built machine.

This is an extremely powerful and sensitive process where precious metals such as gold can actually enhance the fingerprints of individuals that have touched the exhibits, such as banknotes.

Continue reading...

George Pell lying in state in Vatican’s St Stephen of the Abyssinians church

Posted on by

Around 20 people were seen kneeling in prayer in the church – typically used for baptisms and weddings – prior to funeral for Australia’s most senior Catholic

George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, is lying in state in a closed dark brown wooden coffin behind the walls of the Vatican as preparations continue for his funeral, which will be blessed by Pope Francis.

Pell, who was the subject of damning findings by Australia’s child abuse royal commission, is in a coffin on the floor of the small church of St Stephen of the Abyssinians, inside the Vatican walls.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

George Pell wrote memo calling papacy of Pope Francis a ‘catastrophe’

Posted on by

Journalist who published the anonymous memo criticising ‘politically correct’ decisions reveals cardinal was its author

Cardinal George Pell was the author of an anonymous memo condemning the papacy of Pope Francis as a “catastrophe” where political correctness held sway while global wrongs were ignored, says the journalist who published it.

Released last year under the pseudonym Demos, the document accuses the pope of silence on moral issues, including the German Catholic church’s openness to the LGBTQ community, female priests and communion for the divorced.

Continue reading...

News live updates: Albanese flags Australian interest in Papua New Guinea hydro and hydrogen; NSW and Victoria rule out Pell state funeral

Posted on by

Victorian premier says there will not be a state service for cardinal, out of respect for victim-survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Follow live

Visa processing problems in spotlight

Pat Conroy acknowledged ongoing visa processing issues and said the government was “hopeful that we can get a resolution on that issue”:

People in Papua New Guinea are also very keen on our Pacific engagement visa, which is about creating 3,000 permanent migration spots each year into Australia … and there’s also lots of interest in Papua New Guineans working, studying in Australia as well.

His message around democracies is that [it is] incumbent upon politicians in both countries [to] defend democracy and we defend democracy by demonstrating it’s the best system to deliver actual benefits for the people that we govern. So that’s about investing in stronger health outcomes, lifting stronger economic outcomes.

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews ‘couldn’t think of anything more distressing’ for victims than a state funeral for George Pell

Posted on by

Victorian premier says those abused ‘at the hands of the Catholic church’ are foremost in his thoughts

Two Australian state governments will not offer taxpayer-funded public funerals for Cardinal George Pell, with the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, saying his decision was made out of respect for victims of institutional child sexual abuse.

The nation’s most senior Catholic, who was a former archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney, died on Wednesday morning (AEDT) from heart complications arising from hip replacement surgery in Rome. He was 81.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Pope Francis pays tribute to controversial cardinal George Pell

Posted on by

Pontiff praises ‘determination and wisdom’ of Pell, who was convicted but then acquitted of child sexual abuse

Pope Francis has praised George Pell for his “determination and wisdom”, in a statement dedicated to the controversial cardinal after his death at the age of 81.

Pell, who was Australia’s most senior Catholic and was found guilty and then acquitted of child sexual abuse, had undergone a hip operation in Rome and died after a cardiac arrest. Days earlier, he attended the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

Continue reading...

George Pell: what the five-year royal commission into child sexual abuse found

Posted on by

Un-redacted report released in 2020 revealed how archbishop failed to take proper steps to act on complaints about dangerous priests

The child sexual abuse royal commission in 2020 released a bombshell un-redacted report examining the failings of George Pell during his time as an assistant priest, bishop, auxiliary bishop and cardinal in Australia.

The report found he both knew about child abuse, particularly within the Victorian diocese of Ballarat, and failed to take proper steps to act on complaints about dangerous priests.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Cardinal George Pell divides opinion in death as in life

Posted on by

Conservative politicians remember Pell as a ‘saint’ and a ‘martyr’, while others prefer to acknowledge victims of child sexual abuse in the Catholic church

The death of Cardinal George Pell has prompted dramatically polarised reactions, with church officials praising his service while others shared messages of support for victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

The former prime minister Tony Abbott called Pell “a saint for our times”, saying in a statement the cardinal’s overturned convictions on charges of child sex abuse was “a modern form of crucifixion … a kind of living death”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

John Howard overrode George Pell’s objections to allow research using surplus IVF embryos

Posted on by

Cabinet papers 2002: PM lifted ban despite opposition of conservatives and religious leaders, including then Archbishop Pell

John Howard’s decision to allow stem cell research using surplus IVF embryos might surprise people “who saw Howard as only a rightwing person”, the former senator and cabinet minister Amanda Vanstone has said.

Despite opposition from conservative and religious groups, and despite seeking advice from the then Catholic archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, the former Liberal prime minister lifted the national ban in 2002.

Continue reading...

George Pell: news organisations fined more than $1m over reporting of sexual abuse verdict

Posted on by

Victoria’s supreme court fines the Age $450,000 and News Corp more than $400,000 for contempt of court over coverage of cardinal’s initial conviction

A dozen of Australia’s largest media organisations have been fined more than $1m for contempt of court over their coverage of Cardinal George Pell’s sexual abuse conviction.

On Friday the Victorian supreme court justice John Dixon ruled the 12 organisations had “usurped” the role of the court by breaching a suppression order on Pell’s now-quashed conviction for child sexual abuse.

Continue reading...

Pell contempt case: journalists under scrutiny after 27 charged over verdict’s coverage

Posted on by

Two journalists with decades of experience gave evidence this week in the supreme court trial of 27 media companies, reporters and editors

It did not take long for word to reach Australian newsrooms: at 3.44pm on 11 December 2018, a jury found George Pell guilty of child sexual abuse.

But the verdict was treated quite differently to other significant breaking news stories, which would usually spark a fevered rush to publish.

Continue reading...

George Pell says ‘some evidence but no proof’ Vatican officials conspired to ‘destroy’ him

Posted on by

Comments to Italian media are the strongest cardinal has made alleging abuse charges may be linked to Vatican corruption investigation

Cardinal George Pell has told an Italian current affairs program that there is “some evidence but no proof” that figures within the Vatican conspired to “destroy” him, the strongest comments he has made to date that allege the charges against him may be linked to Vatican corruption.

Pell claimed all senior figures within the Vatican who had taken charge of reforming the finances of the Holy See “with very few exceptions, has been attacked by the media on the level of reputation in one way or another”.

Continue reading...

George Pell says he feels vindicated for trying to uncover alleged financial ‘criminality’ at Vatican

Posted on by

Cardinal says in first interview since return to Rome he didn’t know extent of wrongdoing and ‘it would be better for the church if these things hadn’t happened’

Australia’s highest ranking Catholic cleric and the pope’s former treasurer, Cardinal George Pell, has said he feels a dismayed sense of vindication as the financial mismanagement he tried to uncover in the Holy See is now being exposed in a spiralling Vatican corruption investigation.

Pell made the comments to the Associated Press in his first interview since returning to Rome after his conviction-turned-acquittal on sexual abuse charges in Australia. Pell said he knew in 2014 when he took the treasury job that the Holy See’s finances were “a bit of a mess”.

Continue reading...