Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

Images via YouTube and Twitter

Reacting to the news that Pell had snuffed it today following a routine hip operation, Sky News host Andrew Bolt expressed his horror over the “vile celebrations” of Pell’s death, saying that the cardinal was an innocent man who was the victim of “one of the most grotesque miscarriages of justice” in Australian legal history.

The tweet in the image above came from former NSW MP Tony Windsor, and many agreed with him. His post has so far received over 5,000 likes. Here’s one response:

Hooray! NO loss. I hope it brings joy to the abuse victims that he betrayed with not a speck of compassion. Maybe get a double funeral with RATzinger.

And another:

As a man who was sexually abused by catholic clergy during childhood my thoughts on a deceased man who hid catholic clergy who sexually abused children are dark and harsh. I don’t believe in heaven or hell, so simply believe his legacy is a disgusting reflection on catholicism.

But of course there’s the been a lot of fawning over the monster too, notably from Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Image via YouTube

He said Australia had lost a great son.

His incarceration on charges that the High Court ultimately scathingly dismissed was a modern form of crucifixion; reputationally at least a kind of living death.

His prison journals should become a classic: a fine man wrestling with a cruel fate and trying to make sense of the unfairness of suffering.

Image via YouTube

Current Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, above, said:

Well, for many people, particularly of the Catholic faith, this will be a difficult day and I’ll express my condolences to all those who are mourning today.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, said worshippers were shocked. 

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Pell, for comfort and consolation for his family and for all of those who loved him and are grieving him at this time.

In 2020 Australia’s High Court found reasonable doubt that Cardinal George Pell sexually assaulted two boys in the 1990s and has overturned his conviction. He spent 13 months in the slammer.

Hat tip: Stephen Harvie.

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