The Australian cardinal who declared Pope . Francis’ pontificate a “disaster” was held at a funeral in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday. where the pope gave. The final blessing for the once-high-ranking Vatican prelate.
Cardinal George Pell, 81, died on . January 10, shortly after undergoing hip surgery at a hospital in Rome. For three years as the Vatican‘s finance minister, Pele was a key player in the early years of. Francis’ papacy, whose goals included reforming the Holy See’s finances. which had a long history of scandals and mismanagement.
He returned to his native Australia when he was. Archbishop of Melbourne after two singers were tried for child sexual abuse. He spent a year in solitary confinement before an earlier court conviction in 2020.
A final benediction, in Latin, in the form of a prayer for mercy and eternal rest, was recited by Pope . Francis, as is customary for cardinals’ funerals.
An Italian cardinal in his role as dean of the college of cardinals. Giovanni Battista Ray himself celebrated the funeral mass.
. The cardinal was the author of a memo that circulated for months. In the memo, Pele lamented that the current papacy was a “catastrophe” and a “catastrophe”.
, the day after Pele’s death, a conservative magazine published an article by. The cardinal that declared a “toxic nightmare” Francis’ determination to listen to the. Catholic laity on issues such as the church’s teaching on sexuality and the role of women.
. A meeting of bishops from around the world that Francis has convened at the Vatican.
The day after Pell’s death. Francis paid tribute to the cardinal in a condolence telegram, saying that. While leading the prelate’s finance office, “he laid the foundations with. Determination and wisdom” for reforming . The Holy See’s financial system, which was taken over
. International financial watchdogs operate for years.
Among the initiates at the altar Saturday was another high-profile Vatican prelate. Who has blasted Francis’ leadership of the Roman Catholic church in recent days.
German Archbishop Georg Gaenswein — a staunch advocate of more conservative factions of. The church hierarchy like Pele and a longtime ally of Pope . Benedict XVI — complained about how . Francis treated him after Benedict retired and Francis was elected pope in 2013.
Ganswein unleashed a flurry of criticism of Francis in interviews hours after. Benedict died in retirement at the Vatican on Dec. 31 and in a book published days later.
