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Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has hit out at high-profile Catholic politicians Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet for lacking the ‘moral courage’ to attend Cardinal George Pell’s funeral.
In a Facebook post, Jones said Pell, whose funeral is being held on Thursday, had been ‘vilified, ostracised, demonised and incarcerated’ despite being the most ‘pre-eminent Australian figure in the Catholic Church’ in recent times.
Jones said although Mr Albanese and Mr Perrottet had often professed their Catholic faith they were ‘shunning’ the farewell of a man who served the church with scholarship, dignity and had been ‘rehabilitated by the highest court in the country’.
Conservative commentator Alan Jones attends the funeral for Cardinal George Pell in Sydney. Photo credit: Giovanni Portelli, The Catholic Weekly
Jones did not hold back in lambasting professed Catholics Albany Albanese and Dominic Perrottet for not attending George Pell’s funeral
Australia’s most senior Catholic was laid to rest in a requiem Mass at 11am in Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral but remains a polarising figure after serving time in jail for child sex abuse.Â
Jones, a long-time conservative commentator, noted Pell was found not guilty of child sex abuse in a unanimous 7-0 vote decision by the High Court but despite this, Catholic leaders had decided to be ‘conveniently absent’ from the service.Â
‘There is a thing in life which separates some from others,’ Jones wrote.
‘It’s called moral courage.
Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton arrives at the funeral service for Cardinal George Pell in Sydney
Queensland Liberal Senator Matt Canavan was another from the conservative side of politics attending Pell’s requiem Mass
‘Clearly such people lack the moral courage to confront the continuing accusers of the leader of their faith who suffered but was redeemed by the courts.
‘It’s not the kind of leadership Cardinal Pell ever exhibited.
‘The fair dinkum Catholic membership will not view such abandonment too kindly.’Â
Former Prime Minister John Howard, who is non-Catholic but provided character references for Pell during his court cases and often spoke of his friendship with the Cardinal, was spotted attending the funeral.Â
Former prime minister John Howard arriving to pay his respects to Cardinal George Pell
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott (pictured right) kneels to speak with another attendee at Cardinal Pell’s requiem Mass Photo credit: Giovanni Portelli, The Catholic WeeklyÂ
Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott, who studied at a seminary to join the priesthood but left before following the vocation, also attended along with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and conservative Liberal National Senator Matt Canavan.Â
There have been clashes between those protesting the funeral and Catholic adherents.
Daily Mail Australia filmed an irate Pell supporter confronting protesters outside St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday morning just before the funeral started.
The supporter, dressed in a grey t-shirt and shorts, yelled at two protesters holding a ‘Pell burn in hell’ banner across the road from the cathedral with the word ‘hell’ painted as if it was on fire.
‘We want that taken down,’ the supporter told the police officer, who was trying to calm the man.
The supporter then spoke directly to the two protesters holding the sign.
An order of service given out during the funeral for Cardinal Pell which features the late cleric’s image
‘Take it down, you’re aggravating a lot of f***ing people,’ he said.
A woman next to him, dressed in business clothes, was holding a sign that read ‘anti-Catholic bigotry must end’.
Police officers were also called to the cathedral late Wednesday night after mourners approached child abuse activists who had been tying ribbons to the fence.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has often cited Catholicism as one of his great shaping influences but did not attend the funeral for the Cardinal
Footage captured by 9News showed supporters of the Cardinal allegedly shouting at the silent protesters.
Police officers were seen breaking up the crowd and talking to people following the clash.
Cardinal Pell served 406 days of a six-year sentence over child sexual abuse allegations but always maintained his innocence.
The High Court overturned the decision in 2020.
NSW MP Damien Tudehope will represent Mr Perrottet at the funeral with the premier citing ‘prior commitments’ for his absence.
The 81-year-old Cardinal Pell died in Rome in January after complications following a hip replacement surgery.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
