As most Australians hunker down at home due to the widespread coronavirus travel ban, Cardinal George Pell has left Australia, bound for the Vatican, six months after he was acquitted of child sexual abuse.
The former Vatican treasurer, 79, left Sydney on Tuesday night, after living in the city since his release from a Victorian jail.
Earlier on Tuesday, The Australian Border Force refused to comment on whether Cardinal Pell had been granted an exemption to travel.
"The Department does not comment on individual cases," a spokesperson said in a statement.
“Each case is unique and is considered on its own merit based on the information provided in the application, and supporting evidence must be provided."
The ABF told SBS News that citizens and permanent residents do not need to apply for a travel exemption if they ordinarily reside in another country.
Cardinal George Pell arrives at the Seminary Of The Good Shepherd in Sydney, Wednesday, April 8, 2020, after being acquitted of child sexual abuse. Source: AAP
According to ABF guidelines, exemptions can also be granted for citizens looking to leave the country to provide critical skills in "religious or theology fields".
Following his appointment by Pope Francis as Prefect of Secretariat for the Economy in 2014, Cardinal Pell worked and resided at the Vatican.
Jailed in 2019, he was released in April this year after his conviction was overturned by the High Court. He has since lived at the Archdiocese of Sydney.
Border Force did not make clear whether Cardinal Pell would be allowed to return to Australia while a ban on international arrivals remains in place.
Australian citizens are subject to mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival to Australia, while non-citizens can apply to be exempt from the arrivals ban.
Cardinal Pell currently holds no position at the Vatican. His five-year term in charge of the church's finances expired in February 2019.
No reason was given by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney for his return to the Holy See.
Catholic historian Paul Collins said he was surprised by Cardinal Pell's decision to return to Rome.
George Pell at the Vatican in 2017. Source: AP
“He'll be welcomed by some key people, perhaps the more conservative elements in the Vatican and people who have always believed that there was no substance to the charges,” Mr Collins told SBS News.
“However… there are certainly people there who very strongly resented him and resented his rather up front Australian style.”
Rival ousted
Cardinal Pell’s return to Rome comes days after the scandalous downfall of Cardinal Angelo Becciu.
Cardinal Pell was tasked by Pope Francis with cleaning up the Vatican’s opaque finances during his five-year term at the helm of the treasury.
He soon found himself a powerful opponent to reform in Cardinal Becciu, then serving as Substitute for General Affairs, second only to the Pope in terms of power and influence.
According to the Catholic News Agency, Cardinal Becciu vetoed Cardinal Pell's economic reforms, cancelling a planned audit of all Vatican departments by external firm PriceWaterhouseCooper without seeking approval from Pope Francis.
Vatican observers said the two butted heads over the management of the Peter’s Pence fund for the poor in 2017, shortly before Cardinal Pell left his position to return to Australia.
Cardinal Becciu was involved in a controversial deal of purchasing a luxury building in London with church funds. Source: ANSA
"In the months before his departure (for Australia)... Pell clashed in a big way with Becciu,” Italian journalist Franca Giansoldati told AFP.
“The heart of the matter was two different visions of how Peter's Pence should be managed.”
On Thursday, Cardinal Becciu was ousted from the Vatican’s inner sanctum by Pope Francis and stripped of his privileges following fresh allegations of embezzlement and nepotism.
Cardinal Becciu, along with five other staff members, has been linked with a $329 million deal to invest in a luxury London property using Vatican funds.
It’s been alleged money from Peter’s Pence was siphoned into the investment.
Cardinal Becciu has denied all the allegations, telling Italian outlet Domani that he “didn’t steal even one euro.”
Under Pope Francis, three cardinals have been stripped of their priviliges. Source: IPA Milestone
“It's all surreal. Up until yesterday... I felt I was a friend of the Pope, the faithful executor of the Pope,” he said later at a press conference.
Following the Italian’s exit, Cardinal Pell expressed his thanks to the Pope, congratulating him on playing a “long game” in “cleaning up Vatican finances”.
“I think one thing that Pell will be doing is having a rather triumphant run back to Rome,” Mr Collins said.
“Pope Francis is making it clear that he will not tolerate any longer financial irregularities in the Vatican.”
