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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Butler

Cardinal George Pell divides opinion in death as in life

Cardinal George Pell at the Vatican last year.
Cardinal George Pell at the Vatican last year. The former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney has died at the age of 81. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The death of Cardinal George Pell has prompted dramatically polarised reactions, with church officials praising his service while others shared messages of support for victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

The former prime minister Tony Abbott called Pell “a saint for our times”, saying in a statement the cardinal’s overturned convictions on charges of child sex abuse was “a modern form of crucifixion … a kind of living death”.

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