George Pell death: Anthony Albanese told to boycott funeral by comedian and writer
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An ABC comedian and writer has called on the Prime Minister to boycott George Pell’s funeral.
Catherine Deveny demanded that Anthony Albanese support survivors of sexual abuse and avoid attending the late cardinal’s service.
‘Dear @AlboMP, please do not attend Pell’s funeral. Stand with the victims, the survivors, their loved ones and those fighting for justice,” he wrote on Twitter.
It comes as revelations emerged that Cardinal Pell was the author behind an anonymous memo criticizing Pope Francis and his leadership.
An ABC comedian (pictured Catherine Deveny) and writer has called on the Prime Minister to boycott George Pell’s funeral.
Catherine Deveny demanded that Anthony Albanese support survivors of sexual abuse and avoid attending the late cardinal’s service.
Cardinal Pell died of heart complications in Rome on Tuesday with a service to be held at the Vatican and a funeral mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.
He was the Vatican’s top finance minister before leaving in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne on charges of child sexual abuse.
He was jailed for 405 days before his convictions were overturned on appeal.
Deveny urged the Albanese to implement religious reform following Pell’s death.
‘PS Tax religion. Australians currently fund religion to the tune of $30 billion a year,’ she wrote.
Albanese has not confirmed whether he will attend the funeral and called the cardinal’s death a difficult day for Catholics.
“For many people, particularly of the Catholic faith, this will be a difficult day, and I extend my condolences to all who are mourning today,” he said.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing assistance to ensure that Cardinal Pell returns to Australia and those arrangements are being put in place with further announcements to be made when they are finalized.”
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victoria’s Daniel Andrews ruled out holding state services for the 81-year-old former Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney.
Andrews said Thursday that a state funeral or memorial would be distressing for the victim-survivors, but that the cardinal’s legacy would be judged by others.
“I couldn’t think of anything more distressing for the surviving victims,” he said.
Pell died of heart complications in Rome on Tuesday with a service to be held at the Vatican and a funeral mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.
Deveny urged Albanese to implement religious reform after Pell’s death
‘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.
Perrottet said the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney would organize a memorial service for Cardinal Pell, offering his “thoughts and prayers” to the late cardinal’s family.
At a Mass on Thursday, Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said he met and dined with Cardinal Pell in Rome last week at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.
“He was in brilliant shape, witty and wise,” Rev. Fisher said.
“I didn’t dream that it would be the last time I would see him in this life.”
Cardinal Pell was convicted in 2018 of sexually abusing two teenage choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1996.
He maintained his innocence and in 2020 his convictions were overturned by the High Court after spending more than a year in prison.
Pell published an anonymous memo under the pseudonym “Demos” last year criticizing Pope Francis and his leadership failures.
In Ballarat, where Cardinal Pell was born, he attended local Catholic schools before going to seminary and, after a period in the Vatican, returned as a priest to the Ballarat diocese in the 1970s.
The cardinal became archbishop of Melbourne in 1996 and five years later assumed the same position in Sydney before becoming a cardinal at the Vatican in 2003.
Pope Francis called Cardinal Pell a “faithful servant who, without wavering, followed his Lord with perseverance even in the hour of trial.”
Pell published an anonymous memo under the pseudonym “Demos” last year criticizing Pope Francis and his leadership failures.
He accused the Pope of remaining silent on issues such as the invasion of Ukraine, human rights abuses in China and calls to introduce women priests into the Church.
“Decisions and policies are often ‘politically correct,’ but there have been serious failures to support human rights in Venezuela, Hong Kong, mainland China and now the Russian invasion,” the memo reads.
‘These issues should be reviewed by the next Pope. The political prestige of the Vatican is now at its lowest.