Protests and mourning during funeral of Cardinal George Palace
2023.02.02 03:53
Protests and mourning during funeral of Cardinal George Palace
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – At the funeral service for Australian Cardinal George Pell, a former top Vatican official who was cleared of sexual abuse allegations in 2020, mourners and protesters clashed on Thursday in Sydney.
After organizers agreed to alter an initial demonstration route and gather in a road adjacent to St. Mary’s Cathedral, the funeral location, Australian police officials stated that they had dropped a court attempt to block the protest. The demonstration drew hundreds of people.
Since Pell’s death at the age of 81 from heart complications following hip surgery last month, his body has been in state.
The funeral was attended by thousands, including Peter Dutton, leader of the federal opposition, and former prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard. On large screens outside the cathedral, hundreds more watched.
During a eulogy, Abbott said:
“He’s the greatest Catholic Australia has ever produced, and one of our country’s greatest sons.”
“George Pell was the greatest man I’ve ever known,” said the author.
Speeches against the cardinal and the Catholic Church were delivered by groups of protesters in a park next to the cathedral, many of whom belonged to the LGBT community and carried placards reading “Pell Burn In Hell.”
Layne Elbourne, a musician, stated:
“We’re here to just show solidarity with the victims and the survivors of what’s happened through the Catholic Church, particularly George Pell.”
In response to the chants of protesters, a small number of mourners held up rosary beads, but there were no physical clashes between the two groups.
Television footage showed that tensions had risen after people inside the church were seen removing colorful ribbons that protesters had tied to the cathedral’s fence on Wednesday.
The protesters claimed that the ribbons represented the suffering of victims of child sexual abuse.
In 2020, Australia’s High Court overturned Pell’s conviction for sexually assaulting two choir boys in the 1990s, allowing him to walk free after serving 13 months in prison. Pell is a prominent Catholic conservative. After the acquittal, Pell moved to Rome and met Pope Francis multiple times.
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