Hundreds of Colored Ribbons Litter Funeral of Cardinal Pell Convicted and Later Acquitted of Sexual Abuse of Two Minors in Australia

Hundreds of colored ribbons were tied in the perimeter of St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia as a campaign in remembrance of the victims of pedophile priests and their families. The ribbon-tying campaign was organized by Paul Auchettl, a survivor of pedophile priest, and Australian activist Pauline Pantsdown.

Auchettl, who traveled almost a thousand kilometres from the city of Ballarat to Sydney for the campaign explained, “I came to Sydney to tie ribbons for people who are too sick or no longer alive, as well as their families who are too angry to come here.” This protest happened hours before the arrival of Cardinal George Pell’s coffin, who was convicted and later acquitted of sexual abuse of two minors in Australia. The sexagenarian further remarked that the protest was intended to remind the church that it has an “unresolved issue” with the victims of pedophile priests.

Pell died of heart complications at the age of 81, during a hip operation in Rome. The cathedral opened its doors for parishioners to attend the masses, vigils and say goodbye to the cardinal today.

For Thursday, the organization for the defense of the rights of the LGTBI community called Community Action for Rainbow Rights also plans to carry out another protest in front of the cathedral.

A government commission, which studied the abuses committed by religious suggested in 2015, that at least 14 priests in Ballarat had sexually abused children and that there had been at least 130 substantiated complaints since 1980.

In 2018, an Australian court sentenced Pell to six years in prison for five crimes of sexual abuse, however, after the religious spent thirteen months in prison, the sentence was reversed.

EFE wat/nbo/fc (photo © EFE 2023)