Comment: Two days ago we received a copy of this Pastoral Letter below – written by Cdl. George Pell to his supporters – from one of CP&S’ faithful Australian blog followers. At the time we were asked to keep the Letter private because it had not yet been cleared for general publication. As this is no longer the case, and it is now being diffused over the web, we publish it here for your information. Some interesting thoughts from the Cardinal on the upcoming Amazon Synod.
Pastoral Letter from George Cardinal Pell.
Friday, 9 August 2019 ·
Melbourne Assessment Prison
1/8/19
Dear ***** and brothers and sisters in Christ of the Support Cardinal Pell group,
First of all, let me thank you for your prayers and messages of support. These bring immense consolation, humanly and spiritually.
A word of explanation. I have received between 1500-2000 letters and all will be answered. So far, I have only responded to letters from my fellow prisoners (to nearly all of those who wrote) and a few other special cases. Your kindness is not forgotten and will always be fondly remembered.
My faith in Our Lord, like yours, is a source of strength. The knowledge that my small suffering can be used for good purposes through being joined to Jesus’ suffering gives me purpose and direction. Challenges and problems in Church life should be confronted in a similar spirit of faith.
We must always remember that the Church is one, not just in the sense that good families stick together whatever their differences, but because the Church of Christ is based in the Catholic Church, which constitutes the Body of Christ. One ancient saying teaches that there must be unity in essentials (Jesus’ essentials), while there can be diversity in non-essentials. But everywhere and in everything, we must have charity.
I agree that we have reason to be disturbed by the Instrumentum Laboris of the Amazonian Synod. This is not the first low-quality document the Synod secretariat has produced. Cardinal G. Muller, formerly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has written an excellent critique. I am no expert on the region, but I have been to Iquitos in Amazonian Peru, where a Sydney priest, Fr John Anderson runs a parish of exemplary piety, pastoral activity and orthodoxy. As in the Amazon, a lot of water has yet to run before the Synod.
One point is fundamental. The Apostolic Tradition, the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, taken from the New Testament and taught by Popes and Councils by the Magisterium, is the only criterion doctrinally for all teaching on doctrine and practice. Amazon or no Amazon, in every land, the Church cannot allow any confusion, much less any contrary teaching, to damage the Apostolic Tradition.
The Spirit continues to be with the Church. You have every right to make your voices heard, reasonably and in charity. We need not expect the worst.
Yours in the Lord,
Your grateful brother,
+ George Card. Pell
The new concern now is, Will Cardinal Pell Be Persecuted for His Prison Letter?
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
God Bless Cardinal Pell.
—
I’ll append the personal news that the penitential and I hope reparative pilgrimage that I am undertaking via Fatima, Compostela, and Lourdes against the foul evils of which the Cardinal has been so falsely accused and for the freedom of good Christians against them, has been boosted by the forthcoming bounty of a handicap benefit to help me on that pilgrimage.
I pray that this relative freedom is a Sign of Freedom to come for this horridly false-accused Priest of God.
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I am so touched to hear that fellow prisoners have written to him; he is ministering even in gaol.
He is so hopeful and optimistic. “We need not expect the worst.” I imagine then that when the worst happens, he will simply pray and suffer the more. He’s seems somewhat changed: gentler- but no-one can deny he is also still straight forward and direct. He is charitable towards those in history who persecute the Body of Christ and he clearly wants us all to avoid schism, while praying for the dissenters and sticking firmly to the Truth. I think he embodies ‘love your enemies’. God bless Cardinal Pell+
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Cardinal Pell, a victim of the hatred of the powerful gay lobby, shows no bitterness for the blatant injustice meted out to him. His stoic, patient acceptance of this false accusation and punishment, offering up his own suffering for the Suffering Church, is his way of turning a cruel evil into doing good for others. He is indeed a white martyr for Christ and the Church.
Surely, the knowledge he has so many of the faithful praying and supporting him in his Via Crucis must be a great consolation for his aching heart. As Deacon Nick Donnelley reminds us every Sunday, the prison authorities are not even allowing him to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in his prison cell!
You too, Jabba, through this wonderful act of charity you are undertaking – a long penitential pilgrimage with added handicap – demonstrates how there are many ways to help our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the real Communion of Saints!
Here is a familiar Irish blessing to wish you well:
“May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
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Praying for him here in Auckland, N.Z. May his appeal to The Australian High Court finally show that he is innocent.
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Thank you Francis. Unfortunately I don’t think that will happen- although it should. Regardless, we need to pray for him though. 🙏🏻
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