2 Feb. () –
Hundreds of people have gathered this Thursday in front of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, to protest during the funeral of Australian Cardinal George Pell, a controversial figure who was convicted in 2019 of committing sexual abuse against minors and was later acquitted. of the charges.
The protest has been called by the group Action Comunitaria por el Derecho Arcoíris and, according to the protesters, it is expected to spread to other parts of the city as the ceremony for the death of the cardinal progresses, as reported by the newspaper ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’.
With this march, the organization seeks to attack the cardinal’s position on equal marriage and women’s rights, while denouncing the failure to protect minors from sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
Shortly before reaching the vicinity of the cathedral, the protesters gathered next to the Archibald Fountain in central Sydney. There they have asked to “remember the children” who suffered these abuses.
Among those attending the funeral is former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has described the cardinal as a “saint of our time” although he has harshly condemned the abuses.
Pell, who was the former Vatican treasurer from 2014 to 2019 and was Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic cleric, became the highest-ranking church figure jailed for child abuse.
The cardinal, who maintained his innocence to the end, spent thirteen months — from February 2019 to April 2020 — in Australian jails before being acquitted of child abuse charges by the Australian High Court.
