Cardinal George Pell, a former senior Catholic Church official who was accused of sexual violence in Australia and then cleared, has died in Rome at the age of 81, a clergy official confirmed on Wednesday (January 11th).
"It is with great sadness that I can confirm that His Eminence, Cardinal George Pell, died in Rome in the early hours of this morning," Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher said in a statement provided to AFP. .
“This news is a great shock to all of us,” added Bishop Fisher, who called to “pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Pell.”
According to the official Vatican News website, George Pell “died of complications following hip surgery.”
Choir boys
George Pell, who served as the Vatican's economics secretary and was then considered Pope Francis' right-hand man, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2019 for the rape and sexual assault of two altar boys in 1990s Melbourne. .
Confirmed on appeal, his conviction had been quashed by the Australian High Court, and the prelate had regained his freedom after twelve months of incarceration.
He then claimed that the judgment made it possible to repair "a serious injustice".
Born in a small town in the state of Victoria, Cardinal Pell was the first Australian to rise so high in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, of which he was considered number three.
With AFP
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