'Disaster': Late Cardinal George Pell blasts Pope Francis in secret memo

A secret memo that referred to as Pope Francis's papacy a "catastrophe" and a "disaster" was confirmed to have been written by the late Cardinal George Pell, who died on Tuesday.

Pell, 81, who served as Francis's first finance minister from 2014 to 2017, wrote a memo that was revealed beneath the pseudonym "Demos” within the Vatican journalism weblog Settimo Cielo that accused Francis of being silent on controversial matters in Catholicism, together with communion for the divorced, feminine clergymen, and the German Catholic Church's method towards the LGBT group.

CONTROVERSIAL CARDINAL GEORGE PELL DEAD AT 81

“Commentators of each college, if for various causes … agree that this preach is a catastrophe in lots of or most respects; a disaster,” the cardinal wrote final spring, in response to Reuters. "Choices and insurance policies are sometimes 'politically right,' however there have been grave failures to assist human rights in Venezuela, Hong Kong, mainland China, and now within the Russian invasion. These points must be revisited by the subsequent Pope."

The writer of the weblog confirmed that Pell was the writer, a shock given his former relationship with Francis.

The memo added that "Christ was being moved from the middle" beneath Francis and that the Christ-centric legacy of Pope St. John Paul II was beneath assault. It additionally condemns Francis for his "weakened" preaching and a supposed lack of respect for the legislation.

"The political affect of Pope Francis and the Vatican is negligible. Intellectually, Papal writings display a decline from the usual of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict," Pell mentioned.

Pell additionally allegedly wrote an opinion piece for the Spectator, a conservative-leaning British journal, in his closing days, which additionally condemned Francis for his silence on points such because the church's instructing on sexuality and the function of ladies within the church, in response to the Related Press.

The late cardinal died in Rome on Tuesday from coronary heart problems following hip surgical procedure. Pell was in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died on New Yr's Eve, almost 10 years after he grew to become the primary pope to abdicate in centuries.

Pell was convicted of molesting two boys in 2017 whereas he was the archbishop of Melbourne, Australia, however his conviction was overturned in 2020 after he served 404 days in jail.

A funeral Mass for Pell will happen at St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday. Pope Francis will ship the ultimate send-off, however the service itself will probably be overseen by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who's the dean of the faculty of cardinals, the Vatican mentioned.