Cardinal George Pell: Life and times of ‘the ambitious Australian bulldog’

ROME/AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Nick Miller

Rome: Cardinal George Pell is one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church. Personal adviser to the Pope, holder of the Vatican purse strings, this “Aussie bulldog” is feared, respected and plotted against in the marbled halls of the Vatican.

It’s a remarkable achievement for a boy from Ballarat – the smart, sporty, precocious son of a gold mine manager who was early on picked out for greatness.

If the multiple sex charges against him are proven, it will be a fall just as remarkable as the rise that preceded it.

Pell was born on June 8, 1941 – Trinity Sunday. His father was Church of England – a Kalgoorlie gold miner who came east for the 1936 Melbourne Cup, and stayed. Pell’s athletic genes came from George snr, captain of Perth Life Saving Club and WA heavyweight boxing champion.

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