PELL - PART 3: the Scapegoating and Witch-Hunt of a Hero of the Faith (The Royal Commission and the Cardinal in Court)

 PELL : the Scapegoating and Witch-Hunt of a Hero of the Faith

By Serre Verweij

for Rorate Caeli

Part III of III

[Part I; Part II]

When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, Pell initially seemed to rise to new heights in the Vatican, serving as the clear conservative of Pope Francis’ Cardinal advisors and as the prefect for the new Secretariat for the Economy.

PELL: the Scapegoating and Witch-Hunt of a Hero of the Faith - On the Second Anniversary of His Death

Part I of III

By Serre Verweij

for Rorate Caeli

When Cardinal Pell died in early 2023, he received a Catholic funeral attended by 30 bishops, hundreds of priests, the Australian opposition leader and a former Australian prime minister. But he was denied a state funeral by the Labour authorities, even though that’s the norm for important public figures. Apparently, it would have been too distressing for victims according to the premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews. 

Op-Ed - The Curious Case of Cardinal Pell: "The Power of the State was Recruited to Destroy Pell"

by Fr Glen Tattersall
Melbourne, Victoria
Special for Rorate Caeli

“State power has been recruited in an effort to destroy Pell. This situation cannot be swept under the carpet.’’

So wrote Paul Kelly, Australia’s pre-eminent political commentator, in The Australian newspaper on Spy Wednesday. A day earlier, the full bench of the nation’s High Court, by a 7-nil margin, quashed five convictions of child abuse for which Cardinal George Pell spent 13 months and 10 days in jail in Melbourne, almost all of it in solitary confinement. There, he was denied the opportunity to celebrate Mass, and had no access to the Sacraments, for months on end.

At the eleventh hour, the nation’s highest court redeemed some of the credibility the Australian justice system had lost, reminding the nation and the world that the rule of law is not yet dead. That assertion, however, remains doubtful in Victoria (Australia’s second largest state in terms of population). There, the conduct of the Pell case routinely violated principles of justice recognised as sacrosanct in every civilised society.

Synod: In interview, Kasper says he won - in video, Pell is not so sure. We report, Francis decides.

Cardinal Kasper clearly considers the Final Relatio of the Synod favors his position in an exclusive interview to Il Giornale, translated only by Rorate. Cardinal Pell (see video below) does not. Whose view will Francis favor if the language is unclear?...

“Communion for the divorced if they repent; homosexual [unions] are not family”

The Cardinals' Manifesto - Amidst the Chaos of the Past Week, its Immense Historic Significance Cannot Get Lost

The exact wording of the historic "Cardinals' Manifesto", or "The Pell-Müller Intervention" (after the names of its main authors), which became known as simply the "Letter of the Thirteen Cardinals", the most profound challenge faced by a Pontiff in recent history, may be in dispute. But the general terms of the missive are not. And, in particular, the huge historic significance of a document that promises to be foundational in the 21st-Century papacy cannot be lost. 

They want to bleed Cardinal Pell to death -- just let them try!

On this Trinity Sunday, let us pray to the Most Blessed Trinity so that the hand of Cardinal Pell may be strengthened. His numerous enemies in the Roman Curia have reached a new low: now they use an English member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors established by Pope Francis himself (abuse survivor Peter Saunders) on Australian private television (Channel Nine) to criticize the Cardinal and say that he "has to go" and that his position is "untenable" due to supposed failures of leadership when dealing with such matters when he was Archbishop of Melbourne.

The Cardinal's statement on the matter is at the end of this post -- he will use legal measures, and it is likely that it is Saunders' position that will become untenable, as it is clear that he is making use of his own position as member of a Pontifical Commission for the protection of minors to influence the very composition of the Roman Curia. Despicable politicking and power games by "Progressive" power players.

This is not about the Cardinal's tenure in Victoria; this is about his position in the Curia now and especially in the Synod. The goal is clear: it is to weaken Cardinal Pell by all sides so that he may be silent and meek in the Synod Hall in October, quite unlike the way he was last October, when he did not let the "Progressives" move against the words of Christ as they had planned.

They will do everything to have their way in the Family Synod. Everything. They will stop at nothing. God help us. God protect the good Cardinals and bishops.

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STATEMENT FROM SPOKESPERSON FOR CARDINAL GEORGE PELL

Cardinal Pell’s Letter of Support for the Roman Forum

Cardinal Pell recently sent the following letter of support for the Roman Forum, which will be taking place in Gardone from June 29th to July 10th this year. Note the Cardinal’s emphasis on the importance of tradition in responding to signs of our times.

For the record: Full Statement of the Secretariat for the Economy of the Holy See versus recent calumnies against Cardinal Pell

For the background to this statement, see our post, Pell as Thomas More and Cardinal Fisher: "I will not bend to the Marriage!"

Pell as Thomas More and Cardinal Fisher: "I will not bend to the Marriage!"

Let no one be fooled: the current incessant notes and gossip about Cardinal Pell's brilliant job in reorganizing the finances of the Holy See/Vatican City State are not really about money... They are about his brave and unbending defense of the very words spoken by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself on marriage, divorce, and adultery. Even the Italian journalists make fun of the sudden "reappearance" of Vatileaks, once again involving the Secretariat of State, and now directed not against Benedict XVI (not a threat anymore since his resignation), or Cardinal Burke, duly demoted, but Pell, who must be forced out.  As Sir Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher, Pell is in the way and must go.

Which is why the Cardinal's short note on marriage and Henry VIII needs to be published and made known as widely as possible. That is why he is being bothered: it's not about numbers and expenses at all, it's all about the "new doctrine" on marriage...

What about Henry VIII?

By Cardinal George Pell

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26 2015

Interestingly, Jesus’ hard teaching that “what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mt 19:6) follows not long after his insistence to Peter on the necessity of forgiveness (see Mt 18:21–35).

For the Record: Cardinal Pell Homily to Traditional Pilgrims (Full Text) - Pastoral Practice can only be changed by "Consensus"| "One of the more unusual Popes"

For the record of current events, below is the full text of the Homily written by Cardinal Pell for the Mass for Juventutem (part of the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage), on October 24, 2014. As the Cardinal was prevented to attend due to mild bronchitis, the Mass was celebrated by his secretary, Fr. Withoos, who delivered the Cardinal's written words.

It has been published elsewhere, but due to the great relevance of the words contained therein, we post it here, with thanks to those who sent it to us.

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Homily for the Mass of the 10th anniversary of Juventutem

during the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage

Church of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini

Rome, October 24, 2014

George Cardinal Pell

Cardinal Prefect

Secretariat for the Economy

We Catholics have strange beliefs; our planet earth is like a grain of sand in an unbelievably vast universe and we believe God’s Son came to live on this tiny speck to teach us and redeem us.

In prepared text for #SumPont2014 Pilgrimage Mass, Cardinal Pell says no 'doctrinal backflips' at 2015 Synod

"For Francis, a resounding defeat: Traditionalists have won a huge victory." | "Even in 2015, it's hard for Francis to go much beyond this without risking schism."

Professor Odon Vallet is an expert in the history of religions and civilizations and, since he is deemed a strong and radical "Progressive", he is a favorite in the French media to speak as a secular-friendly voice on Catholic issues.

He was interviewed by popular daily "20 Minutes" on the results of the 2014 assembly of the Synod of Bishops:

IMPORTANT: The Backlash Against the Manipulated Synod of Francis - Snippets from a Rome in Disbelief after 18 Months of Fear Under Pressure

guest-post by A Roman Source

"The general feeling is one of huge relief," says an influential professor at a Pontifical University. "On Thursday, at around noon, John Paul II operated a miracle at the Synod."

Blue Thursday: The orthodox counter-offensive at the Synod- "such a day had never happened before, not even at Vatican II"

We are calling it "Blue Thursday" for the color of Our Lady -- and also the main color of the flag of Australia, the nation of Cardinal Pell, the first to rise up against the Baldisseri authoritarian manipulation.

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The counter-offensive of the orthodox

Agitation in the Hall. The commissions dismantle Forte's text

by Matteo Matzuzzi

Il Foglio

October 17, 2014

Rome. They say that a confrontation like this had never been seen before, perhaps not even at the Council.

Cardinal Pell interview on the Synod - video: - Synod says no to 'secular agenda' (of the first 'relatio')

Pell: "Three quarters of Fathers who spoke voiced problems with Report" Quotes untableted

Quotes and views by Cardinal George Pell, Holy See Secretary for the Economy, on the Relatio, given to The Tablet, but untableted for your convenience, that is, the Cardinal's full quotes and views without the Tablet's editorializing additions:

[Pell says the relatio is] “tendentious and incomplete,”... an “incomplete resumé” of what the Synod Fathers had said it needed to be “enhanced and corrected”.

SYNOD AND TRUTH: Understanding In Depth the Grave Errors of Cardinal Kasper - A Major Article by Roberto de Mattei

KASPER’S MESS

The origins of the errors

For them, Christianity is praxis, not justice

Roberto de Mattei

Il Foglio

October 1, 2014

The upcoming Synod of Bishops has been preceded by a rumpus in the media which attaches to it a historical significance greater than its ecclesiastical importance as merely a consultative assembly in the Church. Some are complaining about the theological war the Synod promises to be, but the history of all the Episcopal meetings in the Church (such is the etymological significance of the term “synod” and its synonym “council”) has been made up of theological conflicts and bitter debates on errors and divisions that have threatened the Christian community since its beginnings.

First great change in Roman Curia:Pope establishes Secretariat of Economic AffairsCardinal Pell to head Secretariat Text of Motu Proprio Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens

The first major change made by Pope Francis in the permanent structure of the Roman Curia is the establishment of a Segreteria per l'Economia (Secretariat for the Economy) to oversee and assemble all financial and economic operations of all administrative affairs of the Holy See - details to be known shortly in a motu proprio published this afternoon in the Tuesday edition of L'Osservatore Romano.

This Economy Secretariat, under an overseeing Council (8 prelates, 7 laymen), will be headed by a Prefect, Cardinal George Pell, up to now Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, and one of the eight members of the Council of Cardinals. [Update: Pell will leave his position in Sydney in March.]

Updates throughout the day.

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First Update (1300 GMT): Press release of the Holy See Press Office: