Cardinal George Pell, who was the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of child sex abuse before his convictions were later overturned, has died in Rome at age 81.
Pell died after undergoing hip surgery at Rome’s Salvator Mundi hospital.
Pope Francis brought Pell to the Vatican in February 2014 to reform its finances as the first prefect of the newly created Secretariat for the Economy. But Pell returned to his native Australia in 2017 in an attempt to clear his name of child sex charges. During his time in prison, Pell kept a journal documenting everything from his prayers and Scripture readings to his conversations with visiting chaplains and the prison guards. The journal turned into a triptych, “Prison Journal,” the proceeds of which went to pay his substantial legal bills.
Pell later said in a statement he was “surprised” by the commission’s findings. “These views are not supported by evidence,” Pell’s statement said.
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