New biography details the larger-than-life figure and faith of Cardinal Pell

Cardinal George Pell was a larger-than-life figure in the recent history of the Catholic Church. This is, of course, a figurative and even literal statement: he physically towered over his fellow cardinals, and had a tremendous influence on the Church, both in his native Australia and around the world.

There are few clerics who were as well known as Cardinal Pell. He rose to particular prominence during the papacy of Pope Francis, who named Cardinal Pell to his advisory council of cardinals, and tasked him with cleaning up the Vatican’s famously murky financial situation. He became especially famous (or infamous) following his arrest, trial, conviction, imprisonment, and eventual acquittal for alleged sexual crimes.

Around the world, he was seen as either the victim of a witch hunt with fabricated charges or as the most prominent face of a ring of clerical sexual abusers. Considering the genuine impossibility of the charges against him, among a host of other reasons, the former certainly seems to be the case.

Tess Livingstone has written a new biography of Cardinal Pell entitled George Cardinal Pell: Pax Invictis, A Biography (Ignatius Press, 2024). A veteran Australian journalist who has written on politics, economics, strategic policy, and the culture wars, she previously wrote a biography of Pell called George Pell: Defender of the Faith Down Under, published over 20 years ago. Following Pell’s death on January 10, 2023, Livingstone undertook the task of writing a new and complete biography of the cardinal.

Livingstone recently spoke with Catholic World Report about her recent book, and the influence that Cardinal Pell continues to have on the Church.

Catholic World Report: How did the book come about?

Tess Livingstone: The first biography (George Pell: Defender of the Faith Down Under), which was published in Australia in 2001, came about when I was editing the opinion page of The Courier Mail, where one of the weekly columnists was Michael Duffy, who ran publishers Duffy & Snellgrove.

Michael was publishing a series of short biographies of prominent Australians and I suggested that Archbishop George Pell, who had recently been promoted to Archbishop of Sydney after five interesting, sometimes controversial years as Archbishop of Melbourne, would be a good topic. He was.

Ignatius Press produced an American version of that original biography in 2003, shortly after Dr. Pell was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II.

CWR: Were you personally close with Cardinal Pell?

Livingstone: Initially, no. When we sat down for the first interview at St. Mary’s Cathedral Presbytery in November 2001—I remember it was federal election day—I had only met him once previously, outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral after the funeral of prominent political figure and Catholic layman B.A. Santamaria.

But I was well aware of the Archbishop’s intellect and courage in defending Christ and His teachings in the public square and in controversies within the Church. Ignatius Press founder Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, commissioned me to produce a new, updated biography after Cardinal Pell’s death on January 10, 2023.

By then, a huge amount of water had passed under the bridge: World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008, increasingly serious revelations of child sexual abuse from within the Church’s ranks, the improved translation of the Mass in English led by Cardinal Pell, his creation of Domus Australia in Rome, his appointment in 2014 by Pope Francis to oversee the clean-up of Vatican finances.

Then, of course, came the preposterous allegations against him, his trial, conviction, wrongful imprisonment and eventual exoneration by the High Court, Australia’s most senior court, in a 7-nil decision. Through the years, the Cardinal and I became good friends.

CWR: Why was Cardinal Pell such a controversial figure? Or, put another way, why did so many people get so worked up about him?

Livingstone: He was prepared to challenge wokeness, stupidity, the cancel culture, and green hysteria and extremism in the nation, in some corners of the Church, and around the world. Some people thought he had “the hide of three rhinoceroses” and his arguments were invariably cogent and logical.

He was apolitical, prepared to criticize both sides of politics, where he judged it was warranted and relevant to Church teaching and the Christian position. From early on in his career, he was in the forefront of Saint John Paul II’s Catholic revival, and those opposed to it, Catholic and secular, could see it was going to be very effective.

Cardinal Pell’s early work in Seminary reform and revival, revitalizing vocations to the priesthood, improving Catholic tertiary education and in overseeing the creation of Catholic textbooks for schools (the To Know, Worship and Love series from kindergarten to high school graduation) set important, lasting foundations.

CWR: Cardinal Pell had a fearlessness that guided much of his life. And it made him particularly well-suited to take on the infamous financial corruption at the Vatican. Did this earn him a number of enemies?

Livingstone: His work in Rome, inevitably, brought him some very bad enemies given the vast financial corruption that he and his staff exposed.

CWR: One of the most remarkable events in his life was his trial, conviction, imprisonment, and acquittal. The Prison Journal he kept while incarcerated evokes similar journals and memoirs of Catholic figures who were persecuted by their governments. Would it be fair to say Cardinal Pell was persecuted, and to speak of his experience in the same breath as Cardinal Mindszenty, Cardinal van Thuan, et al?

Livingstone: He was persecuted, as were other cardinals from St. John Fisher onwards, such as Yugoslav Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac (one of Pell’s great heroes) and Chinese Cardinal Ignatius Kung, each in a different way. These men, like Pell, will be remembered for their courage and faith.

CWR: Many people suspected that Cardinal Pell was the victim of a “witch hunt”, with charges fabricated with the intention of removing him from his work to clean up the Vatican’s finances – or with the intention of the Australian government to discredit him. After all your research, what do you make of such claims?

Livingstone: This shameful “witch hunt” against Cardinal Pell unfolded under the jurisdiction of the Victorian State Government, not the national government.

Cardinal Pell, like most of those who knew the story from the start, believed the charges against him were fabricated (they were utterly implausible) and while Roman involvement was suspected, neither he nor anyone could prove it.

CWR: Cardinal Pell was a remarkable role model for Catholics around the world. What can we learn from his example of how to be in the world but not of it, as a Catholic?

Livingstone: His life is a testament of why Catholic Christians, grounded in faith, have so much to offer the world.

CWR: What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

Livingstone: I hope they find the twists and turns of his extraordinary life interesting and discover how the faith can help them in difficult situations.

CWR: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Livingstone: At the Cardinal’s first anniversary Mass [following his death], Cardinal Mueller compared the Prison Journals to Roman Philosopher Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy, also written in prison more than 1500 years ago.

Cardinal Pell, who had a sense of destiny, will also be remembered for hundreds of years.

I hope this study of his life sheds light for future generations in Australia and around the world, about why he mattered and why Christian achievement and service are of ultimate significance.