George Pell - Church Role

Church Role

Since Pell's appointment as Archbishop of Melbourne he has maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining a strict adherence to Catholic orthodoxy; with some dispute over the issue of Catholics and "primacy of conscience".

Pell worked co-operatively with his Anglican counterpart, Peter Jensen, on political issues while avoiding theological controversies. This was referred to in Sydney as "the ecumenism of the right". In defending the importance of religious belief in building a just society, Pell worked with representatives of non-Christian faiths, arguing in 2001 that "the most significant religious change in Australia over the past 50 years is the increase of people without religion, now about one fifth of the population. All monotheists, Christians and Jews, Muslims and Sikhs, must labour to reverse this. We must not allow the situation to deteriorate as it had in Elijah's time, 850 years before Christ, where monotheism was nearly swamped by the aggressive paganism of the followers of Baal."

On 28 September 2003 Pope John Paul II announced that he would nominate Pell and 28 others to the College of Cardinals. In the consistory of 21 October he was created and proclaimed Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Domenica Mazzarello. For the first time ever, from Pell's elevation to the cardinalate in 2003 until Edward Bede Clancy's 80th birthday on 13 December 2003, there were three Australian cardinal electors (had a papal election become necessary), including Clancy and Edward Idris Cassidy, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Pell was one of the electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. It has been speculated that Pell served as a type of "campaign manager" behind Benedict's election. While there was a little speculation in the Australian media that he had an outside chance of becoming Pope himself, international commentary on the papal succession (aside from one Italian source) did not mention Pell as a contender. However, Pell was mentioned as a possible successor to Benedict XVI as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This position was given to William Levada, former Archbishop of San Francisco. Pell remains eligible to participate in any future papal conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on 8 June 2021.

In 2006 Pell made a successful bid for Sydney to host the 2008 World Youth Day, one of the largest regular international gatherings of young people in the world, often attracting crowds of millions. The 2008 event brought Pope Benedict XVI on his first papal visit to Australia. "We take it for granted that people will always give to the poor and be concerned about social justice", Pell said soon after winning the bid, in remarks which spelled out his pastoral priorities. "But this doesn't just happen by itself. Many great civilisations have shown no regard for these values at all and have even considered them weaknesses...Every society requires a goodly percentage of active believers to ensure that the values of a fair go and respect for others are promoted, and passed on the next generation. World Youth Day will make a powerful contribution to this vital work".

On 18 September 2012, Pell was named by Pope Benedict XVI to be one of the papally-appointed Synod Fathers for the October 2012 Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.