Cardinal Pell died in Rome on January 10 at the age of 81 after suffering a heart attack following hip replacement surgery.

The cardinal’s funeral was expected to be celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican with burial to take place in St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, but the Vatican did not offer details immediately.

In an interview with Italy’s Mediaset broadcast on December 18, Pope Francis was asked what part of his job he would have preferred not having had to deal with, and he responded, the Vatican’s financial chaos and scandals.

The need for a thorough clean up “was clearly seen by Cardinal Pell, who is the one who started” making progress, the Pope said, but then he was required to return to Australia “because of this calumny” of being accused of sexual abuse.

“He was innocent,” Pope Francis said in the December interview. “He is a great man, and we owe him so much.”

The Pope made the same points in a telegram addressed on January 11 to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.

Offering his condolences also to Cardinal Pell’s brother and family members, Pope Francis said the Australian prelate would be remembered for “his consistent and committed witness, his dedication to the Gospel and the Church, and particularly his diligent cooperation with the Holy See in its recent economic reform, for which he laid the foundations with determination and wisdom”.

He prayed that the cardinal, “who without wavering followed his Lord with perseverance even in the hour of trial”, would be “received into the joy of heaven and receive the reward of eternal peace”.

Australian Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said, “Cardinal Pell’s impact on the life of the Church in Australia and around the world will continue to be felt for many years. As we remember him and reflect on his legacy, I invite all Catholics and other people of goodwill to join in praying for Cardinal Pell, a man of deep and abiding faith, and for the repose of his soul.”

Australian Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, former president of the conference, said, Cardinal Pell “didn’t claim to be a saint; he knew he was flawed. But he did claim – and rightly – to be a man of faith and a man of the Church”.

Cardinal Pell “became the victim of an outrageous injustice as he was convicted and jailed for 13 months before a final vindication”, Archbishop Coleridge said, referring to the cardinal’s conviction in late 2018 on five counts of sexual abuse. The cardinal had served more than 400 days of a six-year sentence when the judges of the High Court of Australia overturned the conviction, concluding there was “a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof”.

“The spiritual poise and strength he showed through all of this was extraordinary,” Archbishop Coleridge said. “It revealed a depth to George Pell that often went unrecognised.”

“Through his legal troubles,” the archbishop said, “he was identified wholly with the Catholic Church and vice versa. Pell was the Church, and the Church was Pell – big, powerful and heartless in the eyes of many.”

“Yet,” he continued, “if George Pell had anything they were a good heart and a sense of humour. It was a pity that more of this didn’t show in his media appearances.”

Born June 8, 1941, in Ballarat, Australia, he was a star football player in high school and college, but left that behind to enter the seminary, studying first in Australia and then at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1966 at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

St John Paul II appointed him an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne in 1987, archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, archbishop of Sydney in 2001 and gave him the cardinal’s red hat in 2003.

Soon after his election, Pope Francis named Cardinal Pell to his international Council of Cardinals to advise him on the reform of the Roman Curia and, in 2014, Pope Francis named him prefect of the new Council for the Economy.

Cardinal Pell’s death leaves the College of Cardinals with 223 members, 125 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave.

Photo: Pope Francis greets Australian Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, during an audience to exchange greetings with members of the Roman Curia in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican in this December 22, 2016, file photo (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The post Cardinal Pell dies at 81; he kept the faith even amid tribulation, Pope says appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

But New Zealand Police have told NZ Catholic that the New Zealand Financial Integrity Unit “has not commenced any money-laundering investigations in relation to the transfer of funds between the Vatican and New Zealand”.

Cardinal George Pell, a former prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, was quoted in a January story on the US-based Catholic News Service on the error made by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) concerning the transfer of funds from the Vatican to Australia.

The Australian cardinal commented on reports that the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) overestimated
by the equivalent of more than US$1.5 billion the amount of money transferred from the Vatican to Australia between 2014 and 2020.
In December, AUSTRAC had reported that $2.3 billion Australian dollars (US$1.8 billion) in Vatican funds had been transferred in more than 40,000 transactions to Australia from the Vatican.

However, after it was discovered that the number was miscalculated due to a computer coding error, AUSTRAC amended its report and said there were only 362 transfers from the Vatican to Australia during that time, with a total value of AU$9.5 million.

Calling the error made by Australia’s financial watchdog “a spectacular error”, Cardinal Pell said Vatican authorities “were quite rightfully resistant and rather displeased by the accusation that AU$2 billion went through in that time” and that AUSTRAC’s clarification “is good news for the Vatican”.

“It looked as though Australia, and to some extent possibly New Zealand, has been a little bit wobbly and weak in their vigilance over money laundering but that’s for them to ascertain to what extent that is true. But all is not well there,” Cardinal Pell said.

Earlier this year, the Pillars website discussed ways in which figures outside the Vatican, who  may not even belong to Catholic apostolates, may have used Vatican financial institutions to transfer funds as part of money-laundering activities.

Discussing the AUSTRAC report, which had not been corrected at that stage, the Pillars article stated: “ One possibility is that the final destination of funds was actually New Zealand . . . which has become a popular place for hiding money, especially as banking regulations have tightened in Switzerland and other European countries in recent years. Australia might have been only a
pass through for transfers to New Zealand, or even back to Europe, as part of efforts to conceal complicated money trails.”

Asked by NZ Catholic if it is possible that Australia may have been used as a “pass through” with money from the Vatican ultimately being destined for New Zealand, New Zealand Financial Integrity Unit general manager Detective  Inspector Christian Barnard said, “Without having direct access to AUSTRAC data, this cannot be confirmed; however, the FIU has full confidence that our Australian counterparts would report any unusual transactions to it.”

As part of an Official Information Act request, NZ Catholic asked about the number and value of funds transfers from the Vatican to New Zealand and vice versa between 2014 and 2019, so as to compare with the Australian figures.

Detective Inspector Barnard replied that the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Prescribed Transactions Reporting) Regulations 2016 came into effect on November 1, 2017, so the FIU did not receive “prescribed transaction reports” prior to this date.

However, information was supplied for 2018 and 2019. In 2019, there were nine transactions from the Vatican to New Zealand, totalling NZ$$165,602. In 2018 and 2019, there were 14 transactions from New Zealand to the Vatican, totalling $247,315.

Asked about Cardinal Pell’s comments about vigilance over money-laundering in New Zealand, Detective Inspector Barnard referred to a recent report on New Zealand by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Media reports stated that the FATF believes this country has made significant progress in tackling money-laundering, but there is room for improvement.

Stuff reported the task force saying that, due to New Zealand’s “very open economy” with “free flow of capital and people”, transnational organised crime groups seek to move funds through the country. Stuff added that about NZ$1.35billion is laundered through businesses annually as a result of fraud, illegal drugs, tax evasion and other crimes.

Recovery of the proceeds of crime, use of intelligence between agencies, and the strength of this country’s laws were among the aspects of New Zealand’s efforts praised by the FATF. There have been several high-profile police operations reported in media recently.

Transparency in terms of company ownership, and better awareness of money-laundering among some reporting entities, were among areas to improve.

The post No Vatican-NZ money-laundering probe appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Three members of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals have officially ended their service as papal advisers on the reform of the Roman Curia

In September, the council members had asked the pope for a reflection on “the work, structure and composition of the council itself, also taking into account the advanced age of some of its members.”

In response to that request, the pope wrote to three cardinal-members at the end of October thanking them for their service, Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters Dec. 12.

The cardinals ending their service after five years as members are Australian Cardinal George Pell, 77; Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, 85, retired archbishop of Santiago, Chile; and Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo, 79.

The three cardinals have missed a number of the meetings, which are scheduled five times a year in Rome. Cardinal Pell has been on trial in Australia on multiple sex abuse charges and Cardinal Errazuriz was to face questioning by a local prosecutor over his handling of abuse allegations. The Chilean cardinal told Radio Cooperativa in November his departure was not a resignation but was because his term had ended.

Asked whether Cardinal Pell’s remaining position might change as prefect on a temporary leave of absence from the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, Burke would not comment, but said, “The Holy See has the utmost respect for Australian judicial authorities. We are aware that there is a suppression order in place by the court and we respect that order.”

No new members of the Council of Cardinals were set to be appointed at this time, Burke told reporters.

Burke confirmed that the meetings Dec. 10-12 had been attended by five of the now six remaining members: Cardinals Sean O’Malley, 74; Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, 75, of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Oswald Gracias, 73, of Mumbai, India; Reinhard Marx, 65, of Munich and Freising, Germany; and Giuseppe Bertello, 76, president of the commission governing Vatican City State. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 63, Vatican secretary of state, was unable to attend because he was leading a Vatican delegation at a U.N. meeting in Morocco.

Burke said the members discussed several topics including the Feb. 21-24 summit for bishops’ conferences on the prevention of the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults, the reform of the Vatican’s communications operations, reducing the Holy See’s operating costs without layoffs and the need for long-term budgetary planning.

The council will meet again Feb. 18-20.

The post Three cardinals end service on pope’s Council of Cardinals appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Cardinal Pell is Pope Francis’ chief financial adviser, the previous head of the Catholic Church in Australia, and the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever be charged with sexual abuse. He’s also my old boss.

Upon reading about the charges against Cardinal Pell, I struggled to sleep the next night, kept awake by two sickening possibilities: either Cardinal Pell, a man who has spent his life ministering to others, has had to endure years of defamation and now faces charges over crimes for which he is innocent; or this clergyman, whom I came to deeply respect during my time working as a youth minister in Sydney, is a sex offender.

News of the charges wasn’t a complete shock. As Cardinal Pell himself said previously in a statement to the media, “these matters” have been under investigation for nearly two years.

It’s an investigation I’ve followed with interest, both as a previous associate of Cardinal Pell’s and as a law student, and it’s an investigation that I think has been characterised by three things in particular: confused allegations, leaks to the media, and above all, a relentless assassination of Cardinal Pell’s character.

Now that charges have been issued, it’s hard to know what to think. As I write, Victoria Police have not yet made known the specific nature of the charges, who the accusers are, or when the alleged incidents are meant to have taken place.

Yet, after a sleepless night, I arose that next morning with a resolute conviction that I wanted to weigh in, even if my words are little more than a raindrop in what will inevitably become a full blown media storm.

I worked for Cardinal Pell in 2012, as part of a gap year I did with an organisation called NET (National Evangelisation Teams) in Australia. I, along with five other young Catholic adults, were assigned to the Sydney Team. Our full-time job was to do youth ministry in the archdiocese; running high school retreats, organising youth groups, and helping out at large scale events.

Right from the moment I arrived in Australia, what struck me about Cardinal Pell was the stark differences in the attitudes people held towards him. To some, Cardinal Pell was a monster, a man who embodied everything bad about that Catholic Church and who had allegedly been complicit in covering up sexual abuse by Australian priests.

Yet, among the Catholics that Cardinal Pell ministered to, and among those who worked with him, almost all held him in the highest regard — Cardinal Pell was a pillar of the Catholic community in Sydney, a faithful priest, and most fundamentally, a good man.

I crossed paths with Cardinal Pell at numerous events during my time in Sydney. Despite inevitably being swamped by people at these events, the cardinal always made time to speak with my team and myself. He would inquire about our success ministering to the youth of Sydney and was often quick to share a joke.

I never got to know the cardinal in any great depth, but there is one memory of him that I have always held on to.

Towards the beginning of our year in Sydney, the cardinal invited us out to lunch, to welcome our team to the diocese. Over the course of the meal, the topic of the cardinal’s ongoing theological study arose, and I expressed to him that one day I too hoped to study theology, perhaps at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney. However, because I was an international student, the cost of tuition was daunting.

Hearing all of this, the Cardinal invited me to write him a letter, telling me that he would “see what I can do”. In the coming months, I learnt that upon receiving my letter, Cardinal Pell had personally written to the deputy vice chancellor on my behalf, inquiring into the possibility of financial aid.

When the cardinal left on a trip to Rome, he ensured that his private secretary followed up on the matter, checking that the university had contacted me.

This man, responsible for ministering to more than 4 million people in Sydney, who I’m sure had countless demands on his schedule, took the time to help me, some 18-year old kid from New Zealand, who he had never met before, try to obtain a scholarship.

Upon reading about the charges against him, my gut reaction was to aggressively defend the cardinal and condemn his accusers. But I can’t do that, because the reality is that the Catholic Church, a faith that has always been a home for me, has been rocked time and again by accounts of sexual abuse that have been proven true in the courts. Every allegation needs to be taken seriously, and as the current Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, wrote in his statement after the police announcement, “victims should be listened to with respect and compassion and their complaints investigated and dealt with according to the law”.

I don’t know the truth of these charges against Cardinal Pell and neither do you. That remains to be determined when he appears in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 26.

What I do know, as a student of the law, is that Cardinal Pell has the right to due process and a fair trial. Yet, already it seems that those rights are at risk.

Recently, Robin Speed, president of the Australian Rule of Law Institute, cautioned against prosecutors acting against Cardinal Pell “in response to the baying of a section of the mob”. Speed, who is a qualified attorney, has also warned that if the cardinal is found innocent, the long, drawn-out conduct of the two-year investigation could well warrant a judicial inquiry.

Back in May, Amanda Vanstone, an Australian politician who has held several ministerial portfolios, confessed that she was “no fan of organised religion” but that “George Pell’s trial by media has to stop”. “What we are seeing is no better than a lynch mob from the dark ages,” she wrote, “ . . . The public arena is being used to trash a reputation and probably prevent a fair trial.”

Like anyone facing criminal charges, Cardinal Pell is also entitled to the presumption of innocence, until proven guilty. It’s a presumption that all too often gets done away with in the arena of public opinion, especially is cases like this one.

Catholic priests are uniquely stigmatised as sexual abusers, despite the reality that most other professions (teachers, coaches, counsellors, physicians, etc.) have similar, if not higher rates of sexual abuse. The temptation, when hearing about cases such as this, is to think “here we go again, another paedophile priest”.

Yet, we should not allow the rage we quite rightly feel against the sexual abuse of minors to weigh against the presumption of innocence, in this case or any other. To permit such a tipping of the scales would only serve to prevent the very justice we seek.

The cardinal, for his part, has done nothing that would displace the presumption of innocence. He has given his full cooperation to the investigation up until this point; has supported the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; and as a bishop in Australia, he introduced systems for the protection of minors and to provide assistance to victims of abuse.

Soon after news of the charges broke, Cardinal Pell announced that he would return to Australia to have his day in court, stating “I am innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me”.

It will be the burden of the prosecution to prove otherwise.

As we watch this case unfold, I’ll be praying — for truth and justice to win out, for the cardinal, and for all those affected by sexual abuse. I hope you’ll join me.

Samuel Brebner is a 23-year-old New Zealander currently in his fourth year of studies towards a Bachelor of Laws degree.

The post My inner turmoil about my old boss appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

“I’m innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me,” he said June 29 during a brief news conference in the Vatican press office.

Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, said Pope Francis had granted Cardinal Pell a leave of absence from his position as prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy so that he can work on his defense.

Australian Cardinal George Pell delivers a statement in the Vatican press office June 29. Speaking after Australian authorities filed sexual abuse charges against him, the cardinal denied all charges and told reporters he looks forward to having an opportunity to defend himself in court. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) See PELL-ABUSE-CHARGES June 29, 2017.

Cardinal Pell, Burke added, will not participate in any public liturgies while his case is being considered.

“These matters have been under investigation now for two years,” Cardinal Pell told the press. “There’s been relentless character assassination, a relentless character assassination, and for more than a month claims that a decision on whether to lay charges was imminent.”

Without giving specifics about the number of charges or the incidents, police in Australia’s Victoria state announced June 29 that charges had been filed against the cardinal and that he has been called to appear in court July 18.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters June 29, “Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges in respect of historic sexual offenses and there are multiple complainants relating to those charges.”

Patton also told reporters, “It is important to note that none of the allegations that have been made against Cardinal Pell have obviously been tested in any court yet.”

“Cardinal Pell, like any other defendant, has a right to due process and so therefore it is important that the process is allowed to run its natural course,” Patton added.

In his statement, Cardinal Pell said he had kept Pope Francis informed “during these long months” when police and the Australian media were talking about the possibility of charges being made.

“I have spoken to him on a number of occasions in the last week, I think most recently a day or so ago,” Cardinal Pell said of Pope Francis. “And we talked about my need to take leave to clear my name, so I’m very grateful to the Holy Father for giving me this leave to return to Australia.”

Cardinal Pell said he had spoken to his lawyers about the timing of his return to Australia and also had consulted his doctors about the trip.

In February 2016, Australia’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse allowed Cardinal Pell to testify by video link from Rome because a heart condition prevented him from traveling to Australia.

A year ago, in July, allegations surfaced in a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. featuring several people who accused Cardinal Pell of sexual assault; at least one of the accusations had been found to be unsubstantiated by an Australian court in 2002. Some accusations dated to the late 1970s, when Cardinal Pell was a priest in Ballarat, Australia.

Speaking to reporters at the Vatican June 29, the cardinal said, “All along I have been completely consistent and clear in my total rejection of these allegations. News of these charges strengthens my resolve, strengthens my resolve. And court proceedings now offer me an opportunity to clear my name and then return here, back to Rome, to work.”

When the allegations surfaced last year, Cardinal Pell dismissed them as “nothing more than a scandalous smear campaign,” and a statement issued by his office said that “claims that he has sexually abused anyone, in any place, at any time in his life are totally untrue and completely wrong.”

In October, Australian police questioned Cardinal Pell in Rome regarding the accusations.

While Burke, the Vatican spokesman, told reporters that the Vatican respects the Australian justice system, he also said people should remember that Cardinal Pell “has openly and repeatedly condemned as immoral and intolerable the acts of abuse committed against minors” and, as a bishop, “introduced systems and procedures both for the protection of minors and to provide assistance to victims of abuse.”

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, in a statement released shortly after the cardinal’s news conference, said, “Many people will be shocked, as I have been, by the news that Victoria Police have issued charges against Cardinal George Pell in relation to sexual abuse allegations.”

“Cardinal Pell has repeatedly and vehemently rejected these allegations and insisted that he is completely innocent,” the archbishop said. “He will now have the opportunity to put his case in court and is determined to clear his name.”

“The George Pell I know is a man of integrity in his dealings with others, a man of faith and high ideals, a thoroughly decent man,” the archbishop added.

Archbishop Fisher said the Archdiocese of Sydney will “assist with the cardinal’s accommodation and support, as it would for any of its bishops or priests” as the legal process unfolds, however, he said, “it is not responsible for the cardinal’s legal bills arising from these matters.”

“Where complaints of abuse are made, victims should be listened to with respect and compassion and their complaints investigated and dealt with according to law,” Archbishop Fisher said. At the same time, “no one should be prejudged because of their high profile, religious convictions or positions on social issues.”

– – –

Contributing to this story was Carol Glatz.

The post Cardinal Pell, professing innocence, will face charges in Australia appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.