Cardinal George Pell dies aged 81
Cardinal George Pell – a giant of the Catholic Church who was convicted and later cleared of sexual abuse in Australia – has died in Rome aged 81, a church official confirmed on Wednesday. From humble beginnings in regional Australia, Pell climbed the ranks to become one of Pope Francis's most trusted advisors inside the Vatican. But his meteoric rise was tainted by criminal convictions – later quashed – for molesting two Australian choir boys in the 1990s while he was the Archbishop of Melbourne. "It is with deep sadness that I can confirm His Eminence, Cardinal George Pell, passed away in Rome in the early hours of this morning," Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher said in a statement. "This news comes as a great shock to all of us." While Church figures praised Pell's legacy, Australian lawyers confirmed on Wednesday they would plough ahead with a civil case that listed him as a co-defendant. The case had been brought by the father of a former altar boy who alleged he was sexually abused by Pell. "The claim will continue against the church and whatever estate Pell has left behind," Shine Lawyers said in a statement. Pell died on Tuesday of complications related to a hip surgery he had undergone in a Rome hospital, according to the Vatican's official news website. Before he was imprisoned in Australia, Pell was widely seen as the right-hand man of Pope Francis and the third most powerful figure in the church. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who describes himself as a non-practising Catholic, extended his condolences "to all those who will be mourning". (AFP)