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Encountering His Eminence,
Cardinal George Pell of Australia.
By Uncle Monty.
Photos By Helen Dix
& Alex Albion.
Part 1 of 2.
+
Spending much of the other evening, coupled with
an invited and superb five-course dinner, with His
Eminence, Cardinal George Pell of Australia, and
who is the Holy Catholic Church's Archbishop of
Sydney, was for me, as a traditional Anglican, a
most memorable and moving and most worthy
occasion at London's St. Patrick's Presbyter
with our popular priestly host Father
Alexander Shelbrooke and his other fifty or
so invited and distinquished dinner guests.
+
Snatching five or six different bits of conversation
with His Eminence before and during dinner proved
informative and friendly as we talked about the
Church in Australia - where I have visited twice -
and about the cardinal's Anglican counterparts
of Sydney and Melbourne among other things we
spoke about to each other. The more we talked, the
more I liked the man who in three days time will
be the 70 year-old eminent cardinal, who chiled
me when I mentioned he'd be age 70. "Don't rub
it in," he told me with a slight vexation in his
Aussie voice. He is also one of the same
gentlemen who was instrumental in elect-
ing the present pope - Benedict XVI.
+
Waiting For The Cardinal: Members of
The Order of Malta Seen With Uncle Monty.
+
One of only 185 cardinals in the world, Cardinal
Pell is also Australia's only active and working day
cardinal. Suffice to say, he was the first Australian
cardinal that I have had the pleasure of ever meeting
and spending some time with as we bantered to and
fro about this and that. He was, though, the nineth
or tenth Roman Cardinal that I have encountered
over the past 30 years or so. The last cardinal I
met was Archbishop Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan
at Italy's Milan cathedral city some two years ago.
+
Cardinal Pell was in London as part of the three
day ceremonies and celebration of the re-opening
of the wonderful 125 year-old St. Patrick's at
Soho Square that has resulted from the success
of the parish's £4 Million Restoration Appeal.
As the head of the Catholic Church in England
& Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of
Westminster graciously opened the first evening
of such religious ceremonies, which I also
attended as an invited guest speaker on the
topic of feeding the homeless in the Church.
+
Dinner Host Father Alexander Shelbrooke,
in Far Left Background. With Some of His
Special Guests & The Eminent Cardinal Pell.
+
Reared by an English father and an Irish mother,
George Pell speaks plain and blunt with his tall
and gentle bear physique and sharp mind. Not
given to false semantics, the cardinal doesn't
mince his words, either. When he speaks, one
clearly understands what he means and what
he believes. He doesn't suffer fools easily, I
don't think! I also think he is firmly rooted with
his feet on the ground and not at some dithering
height of self-grandeur. Frankly, I was quite
surprised to encounter such a man without any
trace of artifice. He is who he is, nothing more
and nothing less. Thank God!
+
At The Dinner: Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley
of Denver, Colorado; Rev'd Sister Elizabeth;
Beautiful Francesica, and Cardinal George Pell.
+
Wearing his fine gold lapel pin as Companion of
The Order of Australia, that was conferred upon
him, the disarming Cardinal Pell put on no airs and
graces as one who was also so closely associated
with the late and great Pope John Paul II or JPII,
The Order of Australia, that was conferred upon
him, the disarming Cardinal Pell put on no airs and
graces as one who was also so closely associated
with the late and great Pope John Paul II or JPII,
who created him cardinal-priest.
+
On the topic of the Australian Anglican Church,
His Eminence said that it was more into evan-
gelical rather than ecumenical dimensions. He
On the topic of the Australian Anglican Church,
His Eminence said that it was more into evan-
gelical rather than ecumenical dimensions. He
bemoaned, the cardinal did, that Peter Jensen,
the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney "has never
been to a Catholic Church" nor "ever held any
kind of diologue with us (the Catholics)." But
been to a Catholic Church" nor "ever held any
kind of diologue with us (the Catholics)." But
he quickly added, "I hold the Church of the
Anglicans with much respect." I told the
eminent cardinal that when I meet Archbishop
Peter Jensen again - the last time beng at
the GAFCON Anglican Conference - I will
Anglicans with much respect." I told the
eminent cardinal that when I meet Archbishop
Peter Jensen again - the last time beng at
the GAFCON Anglican Conference - I will
ask him to seriously consider making some
kind of ecumenical overtures to the Holy
Catholic Church of Australia. Asked about
the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr.
Philip Freier, the cardinal quibbed "Well,
he's an entirely different kettle of fish,"
compared to Peter Jensen. Like Jensen,
Freier is also an Evangelical Anglican.
+
Papal Author George Weigel
of The Great Pope John Paul, II.
he's an entirely different kettle of fish,"
compared to Peter Jensen. Like Jensen,
Freier is also an Evangelical Anglican.
+
Papal Author George Weigel
of The Great Pope John Paul, II.
+
When I said that I had read that Sydney was
considered to be anti-Roman Catholic, the cardinal
resolutely rubbished such a view saying that such
"was not true of Sydney at all." When also telling
him that Australia was now more focuseed on
Asia than on the Mother Country of England, he
quickly shook his head and said such was also
not the case. He believed Australia was still
much focussed on England. Asia, it seemed, was
secondary to the cardinal's view and thinking. I
also mentioned to him that at his native Ballarat
in Victoria, that one of the main streets there was
named after my family name has I also once stood
there myself at where he, George Pell, was born!
The Cardinal immediately knew the name of
the street as soon as I mentioned it to him!
Jolly good!!
+
Asked what he thought about about Pope
Benedict XVI - called the "Interim Pope"
coming after the towering figure of JPII and
due to Benedict's own old age of over 80 -
Cardinal George Pell expressed great sat-
isfaction with the Benedict XVI Papacy.
As we talked on and off during the evening,
His Eminence told me he planned to meet
next day with Archbishop Vincent Nichols
of Westminster, who many outside the
Church thought he would be named cardinal
during Pope Benedict's very successful State
Visit to the British Isles last September.
The reason, I am informed, that Archbishop
Nichols wasn't then named cardinal was because
the Archdiocese of Westminster already has
one in the name of Archbishop-Emeritus
Cormac O'Conner-Murphy. Once he passes,
then in all likelihood Vincent Nichols will
be named the next and new English Cardinal.
So at the moment he stands in the shadow
of O'Conner-Murphy, who I have seen on
five or six religious occasions but have
never been personally introduced to him
nor spent any time together with him like I
have with so many other Catholic, Anglican,
and Orthodox archiepiscopal personages.
+
Cardinal George Pell As Principal Celebrant
At "Solemn Mass of the Ascension" Held At
London's St. Patrick's Church, 2011.
of other dinner guests who sat at my table. In
fact, I was seated next to Rev'd Father Kevin
Alban, a White Friar; Daniel Johnson, the former
correspendent for The Times of London and
son of the well-known American Paul Johnson.
Daniel Johnson (journalist) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and Douglas Rae, the British TV producer, who is
a Scottish Episcopal member. We were among
such other notables as George Weigel, the papal
biographer of John Paul II; the American auxiliary
bishop James D. Conley of Denver, Colorado;
and Simon Shelbrooke, the brother of our Eton-
educated host and friend of the late Diana,
Princess of Wales, Father Alexander Shel-
brooke. I happen to be one of his personal
friends at the now re-opened St. Patrick's that
resulted from his parish's most successful £4
Million Restoration Appeal. Not many priests
can singlehandedly raise that kind of huge
money like Father Alexander has done with
relative ease because of his esteemed standing
among his English laity and his fellow clergy.
+
Aside from other people and things that I'd like
to include here, I'm sorry, however, I am forced
to close this short story of encountering His
Eminence, Cardinal George Pell of Australia.
Such is due to space and time constrains right
now. Though such factors are not intended to
diminish my personal experience of meeting the
Australian cardinal and spending a little of his
valuable and important time with this enquiring
and avowed Anglican, who fears not asking
all manner of questions of such to an eminent
person like George Pell, who is a Prince of
the Church and who may yet live to help
elect another pope after Benedict. If by rare
chance he himself is elected pope, then he
would also become the first Australian to hold
the Roman Papacy. As for any other religious
firsts, the eminent cardinal was also the first
Catholic priest to hold divine services for Cath-
olic students at the quintessentially Anglican
Eton College for Boys since before The
Reformation. While now, Eton may
have become coed! Sad, if true!!
+
My blog writing for today must be cut short
due to also another hectic day of a past
hectic week so far for me with this and that
which is marked by this Sunday after The
Ascension. This week looks set to be even
more hectic than the last! I shall, however,
return to add more comments and more
images in Part 2 of this story that has, in
this Part 1, focussed essentially on one of
the world's few Roman cardinals that came
my way three days ago with so much pleasure
for me and hopefully for His Eminence, too!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pell
+
Faithfully, Uncle Monty.
+Sunday After The Ascension, 2011.
.
Part Two Next: "For Once In Awhile, I
Did Something Right." By Uncle Monty.
...
The Three Caption Photos At Top of Page:
1. Cardinal Pell & Uncle Monty; 2. Uncle
Monty Bearing The Order of St. Benedict
Around His Anglican Neck; and 3, Beautiful
Francesica with His Eminence, The Eminent
Cardinal, at the Invitation-Only London
Dinner, 2011.
+
Muslim billboard campaign that declares Jesus
a 'prophet of Islam' causes outrage in Australia.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394306/Provocative-bus-adverts-declare-Jesus-prophet-Islam-cause-anguish-Sydney.html#ixzz1ORt9giLn
.
.
Some Other Google Images of Mine:
http://www.google.com/search?q=his+eminence.+by+uncle+monty&hl=en&biw=802&bih=437&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=ouvrTeLSB5OyhAfp0Li6Bg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CA8Q_AUoAQ
.
.
Feed back & Comments
blog1@easy.com
.
.
{ Click on an image to Enlarge }.
considered to be anti-Roman Catholic, the cardinal
resolutely rubbished such a view saying that such
"was not true of Sydney at all." When also telling
him that Australia was now more focuseed on
Asia than on the Mother Country of England, he
quickly shook his head and said such was also
not the case. He believed Australia was still
much focussed on England. Asia, it seemed, was
secondary to the cardinal's view and thinking. I
also mentioned to him that at his native Ballarat
in Victoria, that one of the main streets there was
named after my family name has I also once stood
there myself at where he, George Pell, was born!
The Cardinal immediately knew the name of
the street as soon as I mentioned it to him!
Jolly good!!
+
Asked what he thought about about Pope
Benedict XVI - called the "Interim Pope"
coming after the towering figure of JPII and
due to Benedict's own old age of over 80 -
Cardinal George Pell expressed great sat-
isfaction with the Benedict XVI Papacy.
As we talked on and off during the evening,
His Eminence told me he planned to meet
next day with Archbishop Vincent Nichols
of Westminster, who many outside the
Church thought he would be named cardinal
during Pope Benedict's very successful State
Visit to the British Isles last September.
The reason, I am informed, that Archbishop
Nichols wasn't then named cardinal was because
the Archdiocese of Westminster already has
one in the name of Archbishop-Emeritus
Cormac O'Conner-Murphy. Once he passes,
then in all likelihood Vincent Nichols will
be named the next and new English Cardinal.
So at the moment he stands in the shadow
of O'Conner-Murphy, who I have seen on
five or six religious occasions but have
never been personally introduced to him
nor spent any time together with him like I
have with so many other Catholic, Anglican,
and Orthodox archiepiscopal personages.
+
Cardinal George Pell As Principal Celebrant
At "Solemn Mass of the Ascension" Held At
London's St. Patrick's Church, 2011.
+
Australia has had six previous cardinals with two
presently retired as archbishops-emeritus, thus
making George Pell the only active and non-
retired cardinal in the country right now. So
aside from spending time with Australia's only
active cardinal, I also spent time with a number of other dinner guests who sat at my table. In
fact, I was seated next to Rev'd Father Kevin
Alban, a White Friar; Daniel Johnson, the former
correspendent for The Times of London and
son of the well-known American Paul Johnson.
Daniel Johnson (journalist) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and Douglas Rae, the British TV producer, who is
a Scottish Episcopal member. We were among
such other notables as George Weigel, the papal
biographer of John Paul II; the American auxiliary
bishop James D. Conley of Denver, Colorado;
and Simon Shelbrooke, the brother of our Eton-
educated host and friend of the late Diana,
Princess of Wales, Father Alexander Shel-
brooke. I happen to be one of his personal
friends at the now re-opened St. Patrick's that
resulted from his parish's most successful £4
Million Restoration Appeal. Not many priests
can singlehandedly raise that kind of huge
money like Father Alexander has done with
relative ease because of his esteemed standing
among his English laity and his fellow clergy.
+
Aside from other people and things that I'd like
to include here, I'm sorry, however, I am forced
to close this short story of encountering His
Eminence, Cardinal George Pell of Australia.
Such is due to space and time constrains right
now. Though such factors are not intended to
diminish my personal experience of meeting the
Australian cardinal and spending a little of his
valuable and important time with this enquiring
and avowed Anglican, who fears not asking
all manner of questions of such to an eminent
person like George Pell, who is a Prince of
the Church and who may yet live to help
elect another pope after Benedict. If by rare
chance he himself is elected pope, then he
would also become the first Australian to hold
the Roman Papacy. As for any other religious
firsts, the eminent cardinal was also the first
Catholic priest to hold divine services for Cath-
olic students at the quintessentially Anglican
Eton College for Boys since before The
Reformation. While now, Eton may
have become coed! Sad, if true!!
+
My blog writing for today must be cut short
due to also another hectic day of a past
hectic week so far for me with this and that
which is marked by this Sunday after The
Ascension. This week looks set to be even
more hectic than the last! I shall, however,
return to add more comments and more
images in Part 2 of this story that has, in
this Part 1, focussed essentially on one of
the world's few Roman cardinals that came
my way three days ago with so much pleasure
for me and hopefully for His Eminence, too!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pell
+
Faithfully, Uncle Monty.
+Sunday After The Ascension, 2011.
.
Part Two Next: "For Once In Awhile, I
Did Something Right." By Uncle Monty.
...
The Three Caption Photos At Top of Page:
1. Cardinal Pell & Uncle Monty; 2. Uncle
Monty Bearing The Order of St. Benedict
Around His Anglican Neck; and 3, Beautiful
Francesica with His Eminence, The Eminent
Cardinal, at the Invitation-Only London
Dinner, 2011.
+
Muslim billboard campaign that declares Jesus
a 'prophet of Islam' causes outrage in Australia.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394306/Provocative-bus-adverts-declare-Jesus-prophet-Islam-cause-anguish-Sydney.html#ixzz1ORt9giLn
.
.
Some Other Google Images of Mine:
http://www.google.com/search?q=his+eminence.+by+uncle+monty&hl=en&biw=802&bih=437&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=ouvrTeLSB5OyhAfp0Li6Bg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CA8Q_AUoAQ
.
.
Feed back & Comments
blog1@easy.com
.
.
{ Click on an image to Enlarge }.
2 comments:
Quite a nice read was your article about Cardinal Pell. I was glad it
avoided the usual religious polemics that tend to be the focus of other articles about this particular cardinal. Though I am a Roman Catholic from Australia, I have never seen him. I live along way away from Sydney so that may explain why. Next pope? I think not. I'd be proud, however, for him to be the first Australian pope if that should ever happen with him. The point you made about anti-Catholicism in Sydney is a valid point. I heard the same thing from a priest here in Darwin. Too many Protestants don't understand those who aren't Protestants. Your article on the cardinal was quite balanced for some one like you who is Protestant and British anglican.
I send you my peaceful regards.
Garrett Adair, Darwin, Northern Territory.
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