Cardinal George Pell Dies At The Age 81

Cardinal George Pell has died. He was the highest-ranking Catholic official to be found guilty of child s*x abuse before the ruling was overturned in 2020. He was 81, According to CNN.

Father Joseph Hamilton said that Pell had died on Tuesday night, local time, after being taken to a hospital in Rome for hip replacement surgery. Hamilton said that the surgery went well but that Pell died of a heart attack.

Pell was born in the Australian city of Ballarat on June 8, 1941. He worked his way up through the Roman Catholic Church to become Vatican treasurer, which many people think is the third most important job in the church.

From 2014 to 2019, he was in charge of Pope Francis’s financial reforms. These reforms slowed down a lot when he returned to Australia to face accusations of past s*x abuse.

Pell was found guilty of these charges in 2018, and he went to prison for 13 months before the High Court of Australia overturned his conviction in April 2020. Pell strongly denied the charges, which he said were “made up” in a 2016 interview with police.

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In a two-page summary of the decision, the High Court said that the jury “ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s guilt” and ordered that the convictions be overturned.

Anthony Fisher, who is the Archbishop of Sydney, said in a statement that he was sad about Pell’s death. “This news comes as a great shock to all of us. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Pell, for comfort and consolation for his family and for all of those who loved him and are grieving him at this time,” he said in a Facebook post.

When asked about Pell’s death on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had sent the government’s condolences to Fisher. “For many people, particularly of the Catholic faith, this will be a difficult day and I express my condolences to all those who are mourning,” he said.