George Pell

George Pell  (8 June 1941 – 10 January 2023) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. He became the inaugural Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy in 2014. He was born in Ballarat, Victoria. He was ordained in 1966. He was made cardinal by Pope John Paul II.

He served as the eighth Archbishop of Sydney (2001–2014), Archbishop of Melbourne (1996–2001), and Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne (1987–1996). He was created a cardinal in 2003.

On 29 June 2017, Pell was charged in Victoria, Australia, with multiple historical sexual assault offences, and denied all charges. Pope Francis granted him leave to return to Australia to defend himself. Pell was committed to stand trial on the lesser charges, pleading not guilty.

On 7 April 2020, the High Court of Australia found Pell not guilty from his convictions and issued verdicts of acquittal. The Court's said that there was "a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt".

On 10 January 2023, Pell died due to cardiac arrest after having hip replacement surgery in Rome. He was 81.

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Category:1941 births
Category:2023 deaths
Category:Australian Roman Catholic bishops
Category:Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
Category:People acquitted of sex crimes
Category:People from Ballarat
Category:Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals