George Pell dies: Jacqui Felgate calls Tony Abbott’s tribute ‘beyond the pale’

A television news presenter offered her brutal assessment of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s tribute to the late George Pell, who died at 81 on Tuesday.

Abbott, a Catholic and staunch supporter of Pell, described the cardinal as a “saint” and likened the sexual abuse charges that effectively ended his church career to “a modern form of crucifixion.”

While this statement was welcomed by many Australian Catholics, some argued that it was insensitive given the allegations Pell faced in his lifetime, including that he helped cover up abuse by other clergy.

Reacting to Abbott’s statement on Instagram, former 7News Melbourne presenter Jacqui Felgate summed up the anger felt by Pell’s critics with a brutal three-word response.

“Beyond the limits,” he wrote.

Many of Felgate’s supporters agreed, with some, including actress Olympia Valance, questioning whether Abbott’s gushing statement was “real.”

Former Bachelor star Matthew Johnson also said of Abbott’s statement: “This is absolutely abhorrent and really puts into perspective what kind of person [he is].’

It comes after Abbott labeled Cardinal George Pell “a saint of our time” and likened his imprisonment on child abuse charges to “a modern form of crucifixion.”

Abbott (pictured), a staunch supporter of Pell, described the cardinal as a “saint” and likened the sexual abuse charges that effectively ended his church career to “a modern day crucifixion.”

The former prime minister led tributes after Pell died at the age of 81 on Tuesday from heart complications following hip surgery.

But talks quickly turned to the former Catholic archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney and the papal adviser’s 2018 conviction for sexually abusing two teenage choirboys in 1996.

The conviction was overturned in a unanimous High Court decision in 2020.

Calling the cardinal a “great son” and a “great leader”, Abbott said his imprisonment was a “modern form of crucifixion, at least according to his reputation, a kind of living death”.

Reacting to Abbott’s statement on Instagram, former 7News Melbourne presenter Felgate summed up the anger felt by Pell’s critics with a brutal three-word response: “Beyond the limits.”

He seems to me a saint of our time. Like everyone who knew him, I feel a deep sense of loss, but I am confident that his reputation will grow and grow and that he will become an inspiration for centuries to come,” the former Liberal leader said.

“The cardinal was a committed defender of Catholic orthodoxy…as an ecclesiastical and cultural conservative, he drew praise and criticism from all expected quarters.”

Liberal leader Peter Dutton agreed and took aim at the Victorian government, suggesting that it had led to the “political persecution” of Cardinal Pell.

“The fact that he has spent a year in prison on a conviction unanimously overturned by the High Court of Australia should be food for thought for the Victorian Labor government and its institutions that have spearheaded this modern political persecution,” he said in a statement.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a “difficult day” for many Australians and expressed the nation’s condolences to Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher on Wednesday morning.

While Abbott’s statement was welcomed by many Australian Catholics, some argued it was insensitive given the allegations Pell (pictured) faced in his lifetime, including that he helped cover up abuse by other clergy.

“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 told reporters in Rockhampton.

He said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade would help bring Cardinal Pell’s body back to Australia for a burial service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney after the funeral at the Vatican.

Mr Albanese, who is Catholic, declined to say whether he would attend the Sydney event, adding only that “further announcements will be made when finalized.”

Former Prime Minister John Howard said a person of enormous influence had been removed from the nation.

“His deep and compassionate faith sustained him through more than 400 days in prison for alleged crimes that many, including myself, believed should never have been charged,” he said.

Child protection advocate and former Sen. Derryn Hinch was more scathing with the Catholic leader.

“I wish I had lived another 10 years of deserved public opprobrium,” he tweeted.