George Pell was sent from Melbourne by the Vatican, and his political clout will reach well beyond church circles as Sydney's next Catholic Archbishop, writes David Marr. Photo gallery Sydney is George Pell's consolation prize. A career in the very upper echelons of the Vatican was predicted for the Archbishop of Melbourne. But the next destination of this career prince of Catholicism lies not on the far side of the world, but the other side of the Murray. Pell claims to be surprised by the posting.
Catholic insiders are shocked.
Sydney is the most godless city in the Federation. Most of the time we don't give a damn about our bishops. But Pell is different. Within Catholic ranks he is admired extravagantly and hated passionately. The point of all this fuss over Pell is that he counts politically.