Cardinal George Pell death: Louise Milligan says Pell’s death will be ‘triggering’

Investigative reporter Louise Milligan has said the death of Cardinal George Pell will be ‘triggering’ for some people. 

Cardinal Pell died in Rome at the age of 81 after suffering complications from a hip replacement surgery, the Vatican confirmed on Wednesday.

‘George Pell is dead. This will be a very triggering day for a lot of people. Thinking of them,’ Milligan, a reporter with the ABC’s Four Corners tweeted.

Cardinal Pell died in Rome at the age of 81 after suffering complications from a hip replacement surgery, the Vatican confirmed on Wednesday

Cardinal Pell been at the centre of sex abuse allegations for almost two decades and in 2018 he was convicted of historical incidents which he strenuously denied. 

He served 404 days in prison of a six-year sentence before the conviction was overturned on appeal by the High Court of Australia in 2020. 

Milligan was awarded a Walkley Book Award for her book Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell, which centred on his accusers.

She spoke to one man who alleged he’d been molested by the cardinal in 1996 in a Melbourne cathedral. 

Milligan had been called as a witness in the committal proceeding before Cardinal Pell’s trial.

At the time she said she had been ‘beaten’ by the process of being examined in court. 

It was claimed in court that in 1996, while still dressed in his robes after celebrating Sunday mass, Cardinal Pell had exposed himself and masturbated in front of a 13-year-old choirboy, then raped that boy’s 13-year-old friend. 

Prior to the court case he was one of the highest ranked cardinals in the Vatican after he impressed with his handling of historical allegations of sexual abuse by priests. 

More to come