George Goes to Rio (Or: It’s GOOD to be the Cardinal!!)

AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Previous posts have covered Australia Cardinal George Pell’s penchant for the finer things of life, such as his palatial $30 million Roman holiday home, “Domus Australia”. This appears to be in conflict with the new guy in the Vatican who promotes a more humble existence. Now, we have the explanation from the horse’s mouth.

Pell told Gerard O’Connell of the “Vatican Insider” earlier in the year that “The Holy Father is an old style Jesuit, he’s taken a vow of poverty and he takes it seriously. Most of the rest of us haven’t taken a vow of poverty.” When things got a bit boring at “Domus Australia”, George took some time off to fly half-way around the world to accompany about 40 “pilgrims” (no, we’re not tourists!) to Rio. On the way, he stopped off in Lima to catch up with an old mate, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne (pictured below).

George may feel hardly done by in being accused back in Australia of being complicit in a cover-up of priestly child sexual abuse, but poor old Capriani has even more problems. He was accused of having been complicit in a massacre of schoolteachers that took place during an anti-terrorism operation.

Since Pell has not taken a vow of poverty, he chose to stay at the Retreat House run by the Sisters of San Jose of Cluny (pictured below), which was not quite up to “Domus Australia” standard, but what can you expect in a country as poor as Peru?

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