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Book Cover for: Remembering George Cardinal Pell: Recollections of a Great Man of the Church, Tracey Rowland

Remembering George Cardinal Pell: Recollections of a Great Man of the Church

Tracey Rowland

Cardinal George Pell was a significant figure in Australian public life and in the life of the Catholic Church from the time of his appointment to the episcopacy in the 1980s until his death in 2023. His imprisonment for some 404 days for a crime he did not commit was one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in Australian legal history. His scape-goat treatment has been compared to that of Alfred Dreyfus in the period of the Third French Republic.

As a defender of Catholic orthodoxy Pell drew opposition from liberal Catholic quarters and from anti-Christian intellectual elites, and as the Vatican's Prefect for the Economy, he found himself in the position of having to expose and then clean up the financial corruption within the Roman Curia. Thus he was fighting wars on more than one front in more than one country. He had many enemies but he also had many friends and was revered by young Catholics on the orthodox end of the theological spectrum.

While much has been written to vilify him in the popular press by those who opposed his ideas and while some scholars have sought to examine the R v Pell case from an emotionally detached position, this book is something different. It is a collection of memoirs by those who knew him well. It is not intended as an exercise in hagiography or apologetics, but rather it reveals dimensions of the Cardinal's personality that never made the pages of the popular press.

This book is a record of memories those who knew Cardinal Pell as a gift to future generations of Catholics who may find this era of history of interest. In particular, it is record for younger Catholics who come from families where their parents and grandparents supported the Cardinal. Since the Cardinal was well known, not only in Australia, but across the entire Anglosphere, this collection of memoirs should be of broad, international interest. In the manner of a kaleidoscope, it offers a multidimensional picture of a man who, love him or loathe him, was a passionate defender of the Catholic faith.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Ignatius Press
  • Publish Date: May 12nd, 2025
  • Pages: 285
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.80in - 5.20in - 1.00in - 0.95lb
  • EAN: 9781621647027
  • Categories: Christian Living - Personal MemoirsMemoirsChristianity - Catholic - General

About the Author

Müller, Gerhard: -

Gerhard Cardinal Müller is the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. Formerly the Bishop of Regensburg, Germany, and a professor of theology, he is President of both the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission. He is also the author of many books, including The Hope of the Family and Priesthood and Diaconate.

Weigel, George: -

George Weigel is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washington's Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is the New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including the two volumes of his internationally acclaimed biography of Saint John Paul II, Witness to Hope and The End and the Beginning. Other works by Weigel include The Fragility of Order, The Next Pope, Evangelical Catholicism, and Not Forgotten.

Elliott, Peter J.: -

Bishop Peter J. Elliott, former auxiliary bishop of Melbourne, has been a consulter to the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship, a member of the Australian Bishop's Liturgical Commission and the Vatican Commission that prepared the Anglican Use for the Personal Ordinariates. He is the author of Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite, Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year, and Liturgical Question Box, all published by Ignatius Press.

Praise for this book

"What was he really like?'' people ask. These remembrances answer the question. From different perspectives, it all here: his talent for talking to anyone, regardless of age or background; unwavering loyalty to Christ; his fascination with world events; insight, courage, bluntness and traces of tenderness; and the humour and wit. He was not a bull in a china shop, he told his brother cardinal and great friend, New York's Timothy Dolan - "I'm a bloody rodeo in a china shop''. For those who knew George Pell these recollections stir fond memories. Others will enjoy encountering him for the first time.
--Tess Livingstone, author of George Cardinal Pell, Pax Invictis

As I read these stories of gratitude for Cardinal Pell, I felt inspired to become more a bishop with the "smell of the sheep" as Pope Francis has said. Each story recalls the heart of a pastor who noticed and remembered people, even as they paint a very colorful picture of this Churchman who was extraordinary in so many ways. Cardinal Pell was such a larger-than-life figure and he could be intimidating. But these essays reveal that what he really wanted to be was a disciple, and that he allowed even the extreme difficulties of his life to lead to deeper purity of heart. Cardinal Pell was a man deeply in love with Jesus Christ and his Church and he allowed his passion to bring him to the cross where all darkness becomes light.
--The Most Rev. Andrew H. Cozzens, Bishop of Crookston

This series of reflections on the life and impact of George Cardinal Pell from people who knew him highlights his remarkable pastoral skills, dedication to Catholic education, and his incredible rapport with young people and families.
The book includes heart-warming stories about Cardinal Pell's sense of humor, his character as a true father, lover of the family and sacrament of marriage, and his compelling yet winsome manner in standing for all that is good, true and beautiful.
Also featured is the drama and intricacies of his appointment by Pope Francis as the very first prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy to improve Vatican financial management, as well as the injustice surrounding the false abuse accusations against the Cardinal and his wrongful imprisonment for more than 400 days.
This book is a compelling read on the remarkable life of this towering figure who was misunderstood, maligned and yet was one of the most resolute defenders of the Catholic faith in our time.
--Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone

"These memories of Cardinal Pell vividly call to mind his visits to our seminary and how I was struck by his attentiveness to each of our seminarians, and especially by how well the seminarians responded to him. He was a humble man of deep charity and strength and of great wisdom and joy. He also radiated a sense of peace that made a real impact on all those around him."
--Very Rev. Mark Doherty, President-Rector, St. Patrick's Seminary and University