Australian Cardinal George Pell Dies At Age 81

VATICAN CITY — Cardinal George Pell of Australia died at 20:50 CET today after complications from hip replacement surgery, The Daily Wire has independently confirmed.

The 81-year-old Cardinal was best known for having been chosen by Pope Francis to head investigations into Vatican Finances, including a deep-diving external audit of the Vatican Bank by Price Waterhouse Coopers. His investigations preceded current reforms being implemented by Pope Francis.

In 2018, the Australian Cardinal left his position as Prefect of the Secretariat for Economy to face allegations of sexual abuse in Victorian court after an investigation — later known as “Operation Tethering,” where police admitted to investigating Pell without cause. Pell faced overwhelming anti-Catholic media bias, but maintained his innocence. He was nevertheless convicted and incarcerated in solitary confinement for over two years until overturned on appeal by the Australian Supreme Court. Pell later published a series of journals he wrote during this time in prison.

Prior to his convictions, Pell was known for setting up one of the first commissions for investigating clerical sexual abuse, along with reforming the main seminary of Australia during his time as Archbishop of Melbourne.

Cardinal Pell was residing near the Vatican, a close friend to the late Pope Benedict XVI, as seen in this lengthy interview, given just a week ago.

Biden Issues Statement Over Classified Documents That Were Found In His Office

President Joe Biden responded in Mexico to a report that broke this week about classified documents that were found in his private office in D.C. after he left the White House following his eight years as vice president.

A source familiar with the matter told CNN that the 10 classified documents contain U.S. intelligence memos and briefing materials on Iran, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, though it is unclear what exact information is contained.

“Can you explain how classified documents ended up in one of your offices?” a reporter asked Biden during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “And should the public have been notified sooner?”

“People know I take classified documents or classified information seriously,” Biden said. “When my lawyers were clearing out my office at the University of Pennsylvania, they set up an office for me, secure office in the capital when I, for four years after being vice president, I was a professor at Penn. They found some documents in a box, you know, a locked cabinet, or at least a closet. And as soon as they did, they realized there were several classified documents in that box.”

“And they did what they should have done,” Biden continued. “They immediately called the Archives, immediately called the Archives, turned them over to the Archives.”

Biden said that when he was briefed about the lawyer’s discovery, he was “surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office.”

“But I don’t know what’s in the documents,” Biden claimed. “I’ve — my lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were. I’ve turned over the boxes. They’ve turned over the boxes to the Archives. And we’re cooperating fully, cooperating fully with the review and which I hope will be finished soon. And there’ll be more detail at that time.”

BIden responds to classified documents that were found in his private office: "I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office. But I don't know what's in the documents." pic.twitter.com/je0OHrVqV5

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 11, 2023

Related: DOJ, FBI Probing Classified Docs From Biden’s Vice Presidency Found At Biden Think Tank, Report Says