Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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MEDIA outlets across the globe are today reporting that a secret memo castigating Pope Francis and written under the pseudonym “Demos” was in fact penned by George Pell, who died suddenly aged 81 this week.

Reports under heading such as ‘Pell wrote secret memo calling Francis’ papacy ‘catastrophe’, journalist says, have effectively stifled the sickening outpourings of praise we witnessed yesterday, and instead are now concentrating on the growing divisions between ultra-conservative and more liberal Catholics.

His sudden death at 81 also served to concentrate once more on the fact that Pell cared far more about the reputation of the RCC than than he ever did about those who lives were destroyed by rapist priests.

The Canberra Times, for example, reported that, in Ballarat, where Pell was born and raised, a mere 50 people attended a morning mass today at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

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There an abuse victim, named only as “Matt”, sat in the back row, wearing a Frenzal Rhomb band T-shirt depicting Cardinal Pell in hell.

He is quoted as saying.

I struggle to see any good in the man.

He said he believed Pell’s 2002 description of abortion as being worse than child sexual abuse summed up the type of man he was.

What Pell actually said when he was Archbishop of Syney was:

Abortion is a worse moral scandal than priests sexually abusing young people.

Pell was addressing an audience of World Youth Day delegates.

No state funeral for Pell

The Canberra Times also reported that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, while confirming a decision not to hold a state funeral or memorial because it would be distressing for victim-survivors, said the cardinal’s legacy would be for others to judge.

Predator brothers and priests were systematically moved around, knowingly—it was part of a strategy—from one working-class parish to the next.

We should never, ever forget that. We will never ever forget victim-survivors of institutional child sexual abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet also ruled out holding a state funeral but said a memorial service would be held at some point.

A service for Pell will be held at the Vatican in coming days and a funeral mass will follow at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. His body will be returned to Australia and buried in St Mary’s crypt.

Hat tip: BarrieJohn

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