Cardinal George Pell death: Daniel Andrews says there will not be a state funeral for Cardinal Pell

Australia
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Daniel Andrews REFUSES to give Cardinal George Pell a state funeral: ‘I can’t think of anything more distressing for the victims’

  • Cardinal Pell died at the age of 81 in Rome, the Vatican confirmed Wednesday
  • Prime Minister Andrews said that no state memorial service would be held for the cardinal.
  • “I couldn’t think of anything more distressing for the surviving victims,” ​​he said.

By Eliza McPhee for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 00:39 GMT, January 12, 2023 | Updated: 00:50 GMT, January 12, 2023

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Daniel Andrews has confirmed that a state funeral for Cardinal George Pell will not be held as it would be “deeply distressing” for survivors of sexual abuse.

The Vatican revealed on Wednesday that the cardinal had died at the age of 81, after suffering heart complications following hip replacement surgery in Rome.

Responding to questions about whether the Victorian government would organize a memorial for the cardinal, the Victorian Premier made it clear that no service would be offered.

“I can’t think of anything more distressing for the surviving victims,” ​​Andrews told reporters Thursday morning.

Cardinal George Pell death Daniel Andrews says there will not

Daniel Andrews has confirmed that there will be no state funeral for Cardinal George Pell as it would be “deeply distressing” for survivors of sexual abuse.

‘These things are usually offered and no offer will be made.

“I think that would be deeply distressing for all survivors of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church.

That’s my opinion. And I won’t do that.

While the date for Cardinal Pell’s official funeral has yet to be announced, Andrews said he doubted he would attend.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also not confirmed whether he would be present.

The Vatican revealed on Wednesday that the cardinal had died at the age of 81, after suffering heart complications following hip replacement surgery in Rome.

The Vatican revealed on Wednesday that the cardinal had died at the age of 81, after suffering heart complications following hip replacement surgery in Rome.

The Vatican revealed on Wednesday that the cardinal had died at the age of 81, after suffering heart complications following hip replacement surgery in Rome.

Mr. Andrews also took the opportunity to offer his support to victims of sexual abuse who had grown up in the Catholic Church.

“We must never forget that predatory brothers and priests were systematically, knowingly, moved as part of a strategy,” he said.

‘We must never, ever forget that.

“We will never, ever forget the surviving victims of institutional child sexual abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church.”

The prime minister offered his thoughts to Cardinal Pell’s loved ones after his death.

Cardinal Pell was convicted of sexually abusing two choirboys in the late 1990s and served 404 days in jail before the High Court overturned their convictions in 2020.

WHAT WAS CARDINAL PELL ACCUSED OF?

Cardinal George Pell was accused of sexually abusing two choirboys in the late 1990s when he was Archbishop of Melbourne.

He served 13 months in prison, before being acquitted in 2020 after the High Court overturned his child sexual assault convictions.

“My trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church, nor was it a referendum on how church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of pedophilia in the Church,” he said after his release.

“The point was whether I had committed these horrible crimes, and I didn’t.”

In documents unsealed after his case, the royal commission on child abuse found it “implausible” that senior church figures had not told Cardinal Pell that child sexual abuse was taking place in the Archdiocese of Ballarat.

There were concerns that these findings could prejudice a jury.

The royal commission concluded: “We are also convinced that in 1973 Cardinal Pell was not only aware of child sexual abuse by clergy, but had also considered measures to avoid situations that could lead to gossip about it.”

Cardinal Pell denied that he was aware of children being abused at the church when he worked there, including by pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale.

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