Dear Friend, 

Cardinal George Pell was called to eternal life during the Octave of the Epiphany of the Lord, Tuesday January 10^th

In a homily on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, January 6, 2012, Pope Emeritus Benedict, a very close confidant of Cardinal Pell, wrote this about the Magi:

“They were men with restless hearts, not satisfied with the superficial and the ordinary. They were men in search of the promise, in search of God. And they were watchful men, capable of reading God’s signs, his soft and penetrating language. But they were also courageous, yet humble. For them it mattered little what this or that person, what even influential and clever people thought and said about them.” 

 “Dear friends, how can we fail to recognize in all this certain essential elements of episcopal ministry? The bishop too must be a man of restless heart, not satisfied with the ordinary things of this world, but inwardly driven by his heart’s unrest to draw ever closer to God, to seek his face, to recognize him more and more, to be able to love him more and more.”

“And he must have the humility to bend down before the God who made himself so tangible and so simple that he contradicts our foolish pride in its reluctance to see God so close and so small. He must devote his life to adoration of the incarnate Son of God, which constantly points him towards the path.”

I believe these words of Pope Emeritus Benedict speak about the bravery and humility of Cardinal Pell. How he led his life, a wise scholar and defender of Holy Mother Church. What’s more is the profound suffering he endured the past several years when he was falsely accused of a crime he could not have committed as well as serving 13 months in prison.

I feel blessed to have spent 3 days with him this past June at the Sacra Liturgia conference held in San Francisco. It was there, hearing him speak on several occasions about his time spent in prison and how he forgave those who have unjustly accused and prosecuted him, that I admired the holiness of this man.

Cardinal Burke published this statement today on his website, where you will find here:  https://www.cardinalburke.com/presentations/cardinal-pell-death?fbclid=IwAR2kaVRfpdBGN-ADd75tYUcKAgGAntZMz54IeEH2Z79CHgI_GzEJ0x1LO2c

Eternal rest grant unto Your Servant, George Cardinal Pell, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May he rest in peace through the mercy of God. Amen.

Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Thomas J McKenna

Founder and President

Catholic Action for Faith and Family
http://www.catholicaction.org/