Former Sydney barrister John McCarthy,KC,who was Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See from 2012 to 2016 and who had known Pell personally for more than 40 years,remembers Pell as a towering figure in Sydney,Australia and Rome.
“It is unlikely that in the near future,anyone will have as much standing in Rome as much as Cardinal Pell had in the Australian hierarchy,” he said.
“It is clear that he remained - both in church terms and for the wider media and world - a very strong and positive asset to the Holy Father and the administration of the Holy See. I also note that he was a very strong and early supporter to Pope Francis.“
McCarthy said he never believed the cardinal was guilty of sex abuse. Pell was the first cardinal in the world to be jailed for child sex offences and served a year in prison before the High Court dismissed the charges.
“I thought the sentence that he had been given and time in prison was one of the most extraordinary in Australian history. His response to imprisonment,in terms of his spirit as shown by his writings,was also extraordinary and full of Christian spirit and love.”
McCarthy said Pell had exercised a strong leadership role in Australia and was responsible for World Youth Day,clergy reform,the church’s response to sex abuse.
“He was Australia’s best-known priest and was a world figure,” he said. “He had credibility of an enormous order in Rome for his integrity in respect to administration and money.
“There is no doubt that many things were made difficult for him in Rome because he did not approach this with anything other than the criteria of absolute integrity and proper administration.”
McCarthy,who chairs the Catholic Church Anti-Slavery Taskforce,said Pell had been a strong supporter of the campaign to end modern slavery.
He also remembers Pell as a great admirer of artist Michelangelo and a generous supporter of young Australian seminarians in Rome.
McCarthy said his family,including his Catholic priest son James,were shocked and in mourning.
“We express our solidarity and condolences to his brother David and his other relatives,” he said.
“I was in the class of people who thought he was virtually indestructible. He will be in my thoughts and prayers over the coming days and weeks.”