George Pell

George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church and convicted child sex offender. He served as the inaugural Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 and 2018. He previously served as the eighth Archbishop of Sydney (2001–2014), the seventh Archbishop of Melbourne (1996–2001) and an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne (1987–1996). He was created a cardinal in 2003. Ordained in 1966, he has also been an author, columnist and public speaker. Since becoming Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, he has maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining a strict adherence to Catholic orthodoxy. His views on the environment, and global warming in particular, are inconsistent with scientific consensus.Pell worked as a priest in regional Victoria and in Melbourne as well as chairing the aid organisation Caritas Australia from 1988 to 1997. He was appointed as a delegate to the Australian Constitutional Convention in 1998, received the Centenary Medal from the Australian government in 2003, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2005. Upon becoming Archbishop of Melbourne, Pell set up the "Melbourne Response" diocesan protocol to investigate and deal with complaints of child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The protocol was the first of its kind in the world, but has been subject to a variety of criticisms.Pell is the Catholic Church's most senior official to be convicted of child sexual abuse. In June 2017, Pell was charged in Victoria with multiple historical sexual assault offences; he denied all charges. The most serious charges were struck out for "fundamental defects in evidence" and credibility issues over witnesses, but Pell was committed to stand trial on other charges, pleading not guilty. Pell's five year term on the Council of Cardinal Advisers concluded in October 2018. On 11 December 2018 Pell