The New Church
Classification	New Christian
Orientation	Swedenborgian
Polity	congregational, episcopal
Origin	May 7, 1787 England

The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is the name for a new religious movement developed from the writings of the Swedish scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborg claimed to have received a new revelation from Jesus Christ through continuous heavenly visions which he experienced over a period of at least twenty-five years. In his writings he predicted that God would replace the traditional Christian Church, establishing a 'New Church', which would worship God in one person, Jesus Christ. The New Church doctrine is that each person must actively cooperate in repentance, reformation and regeneration of one's life.^[1] The movement was founded on the belief that God explained the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures to Swedenborg as a means of revealing the truth of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Followers believe that Swedenborg witnessed the Last Judgment in the spiritual world, along with the inauguration of the New Church.

The New Church is seen by members of New Church organizations as something which the Lord is establishing with all those who believe that the Lord, Jesus Christ, is the one God of heaven and Earth and that obeying his commandments is necessary for salvation. Therefore, it is thought that any Christian holding these beliefs is part of this New Church movement. New Church organizations also acknowledge the universal nature of the Lord's church: all who do good from the truth of their religion will be accepted by the Lord into heaven, as God is goodness itself, and doing good conjoins one to God.^[2] Adherents believe that the doctrine of the New Church is derived from scripture and provides the benefit of further enlightenment concerning the truth, and that this leads to diminished doubt, a recognition of personal faults, and thus a more directed and happier life.^[3]

Other names for the movement include Swedenborgian, New Christians, Neo-Christians, Church of the New Jerusalem and The Lord's New Church. Those outside the church may refer to the movement as Swedenborgianism; however, some adherents seek to distance themselves from this title, since it implies a following of Swedenborg rather than Jesus Christ. Swedenborg published his works anonymously, and his writings promoted one Church based on love and charity, rather than multiple churches named after their founders based on belief or doctrine.^[4]

History[link]

Swedenborg spoke of a "New Church" that would be founded on the theology in his works, but he himself never tried to establish an organization. At the time of his death, few efforts had been made to establish an organized church, but on May 7, 1787, 15 years after Swedenborg's death, the New Church movement was founded in England. It was a country Swedenborg had often visited and where he died. By 1789 a number of Churches had sprung up around England, and in April of that year the first General Conference of the New Church was held in Great Eastcheap, London. New Church ideas were carried to United States by missionaries. One famous missionary was John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed.

Early missionaries also traveled to parts of Africa. Swedenborg himself believed that the "African race" was "in greater enlightenment than others on this earth, since they are such that they think more interiorly, and so receive truths and acknowledge them." (A Treatise concerning the Last Judgment, n. 118) At the time these concepts of African enlightenment were judged highly liberal; Swedenborgians accepted freed African converts to their homes as early as 1790. Several of them were also involved in abolitionism.^[5]

In the 19th century, occultism became increasingly popular especially in France and England. Some followers blended Swedenborg's writings with theosophy, alchemy and divination. What fascinated these followers most was Swedenborg's mystical side. They concentrated on his work Heaven and Hell which tells of Swedenborg's visit to Heaven and Hell to experience and report the conditions there. In structure, it was related to Dante's The Divine Comedy. Some continue to combine the theology of the New Church with ideas from other systems, including Jungian psychology and Spiritualism.

Bryn Athyn Cathedral

In the U.S., the church was organized in 1817 with the founding of the General Convention of the New Church (sometimes referred to as the Convention,) now also known as the Swedenborgian Church of North America.

The movement in the United States grew stronger until the late 19th century. A controversy about doctrinal issues and the authority of Swedenborg's writings caused a faction to split off to form the Academy of the New Church. It later became known as the General Church of New Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as the General Church,) with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Other congregations felt doctrinally compelled to join the General Church at its inception. Two Convention congregations in Canada, one in Toronto and another in Kitchener, as well as two congregations from the British Conference, Michael Church in London and Colchester New Church joined the General Church at this point.^[6][7]

In the 1930s, a doctrinal issue about the authority of Swedenborg's writings arose in the General Church. Members in the Hague branch of the General Church saw Swedenborg's theological writings as the Word of the Third Testament, which they wrote about extensively in their Dutch magazine De Hemelsche Leer. Faced with discipline by the leading Bishop of the General Church, those holding this new doctrinal view split off to form the Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma.

Today, the General Church has about 5,000 members in 33 churches. The Swedenborgian Church of North America, with headquarters in Newton, a suburb of Boston, now has 37 active churches with about 1,500 members in the U.S. The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma, with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, now has about 28 active churches with about 1900 members worldwide.

As of 2000^[update] the most recent membership figures for the Four Church Organizations were:^[8]

• General Conference (Great Britain): 1,314
• General Convention (USA): 2,029
• General Church of the New Jerusalem: 5,563
• The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma: 1,000

The Lord's New Church is primarily associated with South Africa, although roughly 200 members are found in the United States. It is noted for its concern for social justice. The nations of Australia and Germany are estimated to have 504 and 200 members, respectively. Counting additional members in Asia, Africa, and South America, current sources put the total number of Swedenborgians between 25,000 and 30,000.

Membership in the New Church has always been small, and the different organizations have been heavily involved in publishing activities. In terms of doctrine, there is a striking similarity between the New Church and the Oneness Pentecostalism movement of the twentieth century, which developed quite independently of the writings of Swedenborg. Although the movement is completely separate, some members make some acknowledgement of Emanuel Swedenborg, who preceded the foundation of their church by over 150 years.

Beliefs[link]

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The doctrines of the New Church, as summarized in The True Christian Religion,^[9] are as follows:

1. That there is one God and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Within the single Person of God there is a Divine Trinity.
2. That a saving faith is to believe in Him and also to live a life of charity and piety as described in his writings.
3. That all evils originate in humanity and are to be shunned.
4. That good actions are of God and from God, and are therefore necessary for life and should be done.
5. That these good acts are to be done by a person as if from him/herself; but that it ought to be acknowledged that they are done from the Lord with him/her and by him/her.
6. That one's fate after death is according to the character one has acquired in life; specifically that those governed by the love of the Lord or the love of being useful to others are in heaven, and that those governed by love of self or the love of worldly things are in hell.
7. That marriage can take place in heaven.
8. That salvation is available to people from all religions, regardless if they embrace the cross of Jesus Christ to reconcile them with God or not, as long as they are prepared to live a good life.

Swedenborg held that God is one person revealed in Jesus Christ, which was later independently expressed by modern day Oneness Pentecostalism. He stated that the doctrine of a trinity of three persons originated in the fourth century with the adoption of the Nicene Creed to combat the heresy of Arianism, but this was unknown to the early Apostolic Church, as shown by the Apostles' Creed which preceded the Nicene Creed.^[10]

Doctrine of the Lord[link]

• The Lord created mankind because He is Love Itself, and Love seeks to make others outside of self happy. The purpose of creation was that God be conjoined to mankind by the reciprocation of His Love. To be in His Love is to love others, and by loving others one also loves Him. He has always provided through revelation of Himself that this end may be met. When, on account of humankind choosing evil, connection with Him was almost entirely lost He had to reveal Himself in a way that would never lose effect.

• The Infinite God of the Universe (Jehovah) came into this world within the human form of Jesus Christ. He came in order to permanently restore mankind's ability to have conjunction with Him and by His divine human life show people the path to spiritual freedom.
  • Jesus was born with a purely Divine soul. From His Divine Will He struggled against every evil that humanity encounters by allowing the evils of Hell to attack Him on the battleground of His Human form. He overcame evil in every instance, and made His human form One with His uniquely Divine Soul, even as to the flesh and bones. Jesus Christ, thus, entirely became the One God through a process of removing the natural human imperfections and uniting His Divine Soul with His human form.
  • The New Church has been seen as a proponent of Modalism, however, it does not see God as appearing in three sequential modes. God is seen as the One Divine Person, Jesus Christ, who has a Divine soul of love, Divine mind of truth, and Divine body of activity. Jesus, the Word made flesh, became entirely One with His Divine Soul from the Father to the point of having no distinction of personality. It is believed that this doctrine retains both the Unity of God as well as the full Divinity of Christ, and thus that it is not necessary to split God into a Trinity of persons. The Oneness Pentecostal view is similar.
• This earth and all of nature is part of the Lord's Kingdom, and in nature we can see the Love and Wisdom of the Lord manifested, but not apart from written revelation.

Doctrine of Life[link]

• Following Him is seen as the only loving and rational choice one can make, since He is the One Source of all love and truth. If one is learning truth or doing good, it is from Him, whether or not one consciously knows that He is the source.

Afterlife[link]

• Every one of us can become angels if we choose to stop doing evil actions and allow the Lord's presence to grow within us. All angels in Heaven and Devils in Hell were once people on earth.
• The Lord created us all to go to heaven, but He does not make anyone go there. We freely choose our eternal destiny.
  • People of all faiths come into heaven if they have followed their beliefs sincerely and loved God and their neighbors. A person is seen as responsible for their reaction to the truth when it is made known to them. Those who love evil tend to choose to reject the truth, whereas those who love good choose to receive it openly. When good people enter heaven they all come to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the One God of Heaven and Earth.
  • Those who go to Hell have chosen Hell because they enjoy Hellish delights, which in Hell are only allowed to be enjoyed as fantasy.

Sacraments[link]

Baptism and Eucharist[link]

There are two primary sacraments of the New Church: Baptism and the Eucharist (also Communion, or Holy Supper). These are external rituals that are symbolic of the inner spiritual life.^[11] Baptism signifies one's entry into Christianity, and signifies the reformation of the mind, where falsity is washed away by truth. The baptism ritual should be done when one has reached the age of reason to make the decision to follow Jesus Christ, and yet, Swedenborg states that infants who are baptized are assigned a guardian angel until they reach the proper age, to guide them into the Christian faith.^[12] The Holy Supper, or Communion, signifies the regeneration of one's will in accordance with God's commandments, which causes the Lord to commune closely with man in his heart. Thus everyone should examine his or her life before partaking in the Holy Supper, in order for the ritual to fulfill its purpose.

Marriage[link]

A personal sacrament of the New Church is the rite of marriage, as administration by a priest is considered more of an expediency rather than a necessity. It is not mentioned as a sacrament along with Baptism and the Holy Supper. However elsewhere Swedenborg states that marriage should be administered by a priest "because marriages, considered in themselves, are spiritual, and thence holy; for they descend from the heavenly marriage of good and truth, and things conjugial correspond to the divine marriage of the Lord and the church; and hence they are from the Lord himself."^[13] Moreover, true marriage love is founded in religion, as they both originate from God. Without a religious foundation, a marriage can turn cold.^[14] Marriage that is truly spiritual lasts forever, even in heaven after death. There, the two remain male and female as to form, and become one angel as to their soul. As a couple they live a life of useful service in the Lord's Heavenly Kingdom, which is perfected to eternity. If a person dies unmarried he or she will find a spouse in heaven.

Man is a form of truth, and the woman is a form of love, and the two make one. Marriage love comes directly from the sphere of heaven into all humans, and a life of celibacy interferes with this.^[15] Thus marriage is to be preferred to a state of remaining celibate.^[16]

Biblical canon[link]

The Word of God is contained in the Bible, which has a symbolic spiritual meaning hidden in its literal sense. Swedenborg's visions primarily explain how and why the Bible is Divinely Inspired, and it is methodically delineated word by word in his massive multi-volume work, the Arcana Coelestia (meaning Heavenly Secrets). The symbolic language, where each passage follows the other in a coherent logical series, is what Swedenborg called "correspondences." This inner meaning was kept hidden, and could only have been discovered through revelation, which was made available when mankind was ready to receive it. It is this hidden inner meaning that separates the Bible from other books, and each statement Swedenborg makes is supported through numerous quotations of Biblical passages. The books that have this inner spiritual meaning is what forms the true Biblical canon, as follows:

Old Testament[link]

According to Swedenborg, the original text of the Old Testament is preserved in the Hebrew Masoretic edition, where letters were counted by the Masorites to ensure that the scripture remained accurate and free from corruption.^[17] Similar to Judaism, Swedenborg divides the Old Testament into three main divisions: the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. The same divisions were specified by Jesus Christ in the gospel of Luke (Luke 24:44). The books of the Bible that have an internal spiritual sense, and are thus divinely inspired, include the Law of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), the Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi) and the Psalms.^[18] Swedenborg's groupings differ from Judaism's, as he assigned Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings to the Law of Moses, while according to the Jewish biblical canon the Law of Moses (the Torah) refers to the first five books, and these four books belong to the Prophets (Nevi'im). However, in other passages Swedenborg states that Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets respectively,^[19] and as Elijah appears in the book of Kings that would indicate that this book should belong among the Prophets.

The other books of the Old Testament, which are not believed to be divinely inspired, include those that are generally grouped by the Jews under the "Writings" (Ketuvim). In the Greek Septuagint these works were mixed in with the rest of scripture, which largely determined the Biblical book order for all of Christianity. Moreover, the Greek Septuagint introduced other writings among the Hebrew scripture, which Martin Luther removed and placed among the Apocrypha. Among the Writings the Jews included Lamentations, Daniel, and sometimes the Psalms, which the New Church states are divinely inspired and are considered as primary sacred scripture. Of the other books in the Writings, Swedenborg takes special note of the Book of Job and the Song of Songs. These books do indeed contain symbolic representations similar to divinely inspired scripture, but not in a complete series.^[20]

New Testament[link]

The New Church regards the words of Jesus as divinely inspired, and thus the canon of sacred scripture, and among the books of the New Testament includes only the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and the Book of Revelation.^[21] Only these books contain an internal symbolism in a series, and are thus divinely inspired.

Although this leaves out the Book of Acts and the letters of the apostles, the New Church holds them in esteem similar to that of the Jews for the Writings of the Old Testament. Swedenborg stated that these books were included as an act of divine providence, as books explaining Christian doctrine were needed for the general public.^[22] Paul did indeed speak from inspiration, but not in the same manner in which the text he wrote has an internal spiritual correspondence, as does sacred scripture.^{[clarification needed][23]}

Pre-Biblical texts[link]

Swedenborg stated that there were a set of sacred texts among an "Ancient Church" in the Middle East which preceded Judaism, which he called the Ancient Word. These were divinely inspired, but they were falsified by many^[who?], until the texts became lost over time. Some of these are quoted in the Bible, such as The Wars of Jehovah (Num. 21:14–15) and another book similar to those in the Prophets (Num. 21:27–30).^[24] Another work that Swedenborg said belonged to the Ancient Church was the Book of Jasher, which is also quoted in the Bible (Josh. 10:12–13, 2 Sam. 1:17–18), which Swedenborg stated was still extant in Tartary.^[25] A Hebrew midrash called Jasher (see Sefer haYashar) was published in Venice in 1625, and an English translation was published in 1840. The Hebrew text was examined by the 19th century biblical scholar George Bush (a relative of the Bush political family), who later became a Swedenborgian minister. Although the New Church has no official position on this Hebrew text, Swedenborg stated that the first portions of Genesis was taken from the Ancient Word,^[26] and these portions do happen to be found in the book of Jasher.^{[citation needed]} Scholars, however, have identified late additions to this Hebrew text.

Eschatology[link]

There is no "end of the world" where the visible heaven and earth will disappear. Instead, the church has passed through different ages or dispensations, each ending with a Last Judgment that occurs in the spiritual world. The last of these took place in the year 1757. Previous last judgments had occurred at the time of Noah's Flood, and at the passion of the cross by Jesus Christ. The purpose of these last judgments is to separate the good from the evil in the intermediate spiritual world, which lies between heaven and hell. As a result of these periodic judgments, a new age or New Church begins among the people on earth. The Second Coming of the Lord is not a coming in person as the Word incarnate, but His coming is the revelation of the spiritual symbolism in the Bible, and the formation of a New Church as a result of this revelation.^[27]

There have been four Churches or dispensations preceding the New Church on this earth: the first was the "Most Ancient Church" before the flood, where contact with heaven was direct. The second was the "Ancient Church" which followed the flood, which was destroyed by idolatry. The third was Judaism, which began with the revelation of the Decalogue to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The fourth is Christianity established by Jesus and his apostles, which over time became divided primarily into the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, and Protestantism.^[28] The New Church, which is the final phase or dispensation, is a renewal of Christianity based on the Lord's Second Coming.^[29] The New Church is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the heavenly New Jerusalem which descends out of heaven in the book of Revelation.^[30] Swedenborg stated that the establishment of the New Church would happen gradually, and not in a moment, as the false beliefs of the former Church had to first be set aside.^[31]

Criticism[link]

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Christians have criticised the church's beliefs, due to the denial of a Holy Trinity of three persons and the denial of blood atonement. The Church believes that there is one God in one person, Jesus Christ, and that his "blood" signifies the truth of the Holy Spirit which sanctifies a person. It is these two doctrines which cause Christian theologians to classify the Church as a cult.^[32]

Others reject the teachings on the basis that Swedenborg claimed to have visions. Walter Martin, an Evangelical minister, quoted an authority that his spiritual experiences "were admittedly of such a character, that in an ordinary man they would have sufficed to qualify him for an asylum."^[33] However the same authority said that his theological writings were so systematic that "no one can reasonably say that Swedenborg was insane."^[34] The earliest and most well known example of this dual treatment comes from German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who was a contemporary of Swedenborg. Swedenborg was relatively unknown until 1759 when a fire broke out in Stockholm, Sweden, which threatened to burn down his house and all his writings. At the time Swedenborg was at a dinner in Gothenburg, 480 kilometres away. He suddenly turned pale and described to the guests exactly what was happening, until the fire was put out three houses down from his house. This was investigated by Kant who wrote Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, in which he criticized Swedenborg and knowledge derived from dreams and visions. In private letters Kant stated that he clothed his views in irony, and had great admiration for Swedenborg, but did not publicly admit it for fear of ridicule.^[35]

In 1768, a heresy trial was initiated in Sweden against Swedenborg's writings and two men who promoted these ideas. It essentially concerned whether Swedenborg's theological writings were consistent with the Christian doctrines. A royal ordinance in 1770 declared that Swedenborg's writings were "clearly mistaken" and should not be taught even though his system of theological thought was never examined. Swedenborg's clerical supporters were ordered to cease using his teachings, and customs officials were directed to impound his books and stop their circulation in any district unless the nearest consistory granted permission. Swedenborg then begged the King for grace and protection in a letter from Amsterdam. A new investigation against Swedenborg stalled and was eventually dropped in 1778.^[36]

Censorship in the form of omission was claimed by Eric J. Sharpe in the evangelical biographies of Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889–1929). Singh was said to have a number of gifts, including healing and having visions. It is documented^{[citation needed]} that he claimed to have seen Emanuel Swedenborg in his visions. Yet Sharpe discovered that all the evangelical biographies would omit this fact, due to the fact they considered the teachings of Swedenborg as unorthodox (see "Biographical Controversies" in Sadhu Sundar Singh).

Influence[link]

The writings of Swedenborg cover a wide area of subjects. Thus Swedenborg and the New Church have had influence in a number of other areas.

Mormonism[link]

Researcher D. Michael Quinn suggests that Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism, was influenced by the writings of Swedenborg. Like Swedenborg, Mormons believe in eternal marriage, but require that the ritual be performed in a Mormon temple (see Celestial Marriage). Also Joseph Smith's idea of three heavens is similar to Swedenborg's view that there are three heavens (see Heaven and Hell (Swedenborg)). Both Swedenborg and Joseph Smith refer to the highest heaven as "celestial", in concert with the usage of the apostle Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15:40–42) when he described a visit to the "third heaven". Other historians, including William J. Hamblin, seriously doubt whether Joseph Smith, living in rural upstate New York, could have had access to Swedenborg's book and so find Quinn's assertions problematic.^[37] However, Edward Hunter, a Swedenborgian who later became a Mormon, reported that in 1839 Joseph Smith told him he was familiar with the writings of Swedenborg.^[38]

New Thought movement[link]

New Thought is a spiritual movement that began in the United States in the late 19th century which promotes positive thinking and healing. One of its earliest proponents was Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, a healer who said that illnesses in the body originated from false beliefs in the mind. One of the people he healed was Warren Felt Evans, a Swedenborgian minister, who himself became a healer and published several books promoting New Thought and explaining it in terms of New Church doctrines. Swedenborg had stated that there was a correspondence of heaven with all things on earth,^[39] and thus there is a correspondence between the mind and the body. In general, the organized churches based on New Thought (e.g., Unity Church, Religious Science, Church of Divine Science) have developed their own teachings separate from those of Swedenborg and the New Church.

Psychology[link]

Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology and a contemporary of Sigmund Freud, was familiar with the works of Swedenborg. He mentioned Swedenborg's clairvoyance of the fire of Stockholm in 1759 as an example of synchronicity, writing "“When . . . the vision arose in Swedenborg’s mind of a fire in Stockholm, there was a real fire raging there at the same time, without there being any demonstrable or even thinkable connection between the two”"^[40]

Other notable adherents[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Notable persons influenced either by Swedenborg's writing or by the New Church include:

• Daniel Burnham – His parents were Swedenborgians.
• Robert Carter III – Became a Swedenborgian in 1787 after his wife died and stayed with it.[1], but he left it as an adult.
• Leonard Gyllenhaal – Entomologist and dedicated Swedenborgian.
• Stephen Gyllenhaal – Descendant of Leonard who was raised Swedenborgian.
• Helen Keller – Wrote Light in My Darkness which advocated the ideals of Emanuel Swedenborg.
• Lucius Lyon – "In politics he was Democrat, in religion a Swedenborgian."
• William Rainey Marshall – Fifth governor of Minnesota and advocate for black suffrage.[2]
• Lois Wilson – Founder of Al-Anon, raised Swedenborgian.[3] (Her husband Bill W, of A.A. fame, married her at her family's Swedenborgian chapel. Still the influence of the faith on him is disputed.)
• Sir Isaac Pitman – inventor of Shorthand was a prominent member of the Greek styled New Jerusalem church in Bath which closed in 2005.
• William Harbutt – (Inventor of Plasticine) was a member at Bath too.
• John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman – was an American folk hero, missionary and pioneer who planted apple trees throughout the Midwest of America
• Robert Frost – American poet who was baptized in the church but left it as an adult ^[41]

There are 25 churches left in England and a handful of ministers. The denomination in the 19th century had over a hundred churches in the UK, often very grand churches very Anglican in style with large chancels, side pulpits and altars. Nearly all of these churches have closed or rebuilt in the late 20th century. Some remain in London.

See also[link]

• Bible Christian Church (vegetarian)
• Bryn Athyn College
• Glencairn Museum

References[link]

External links[link]

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Swedenborgianism

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Portal:Swedenborgianism

• The Swedenborgian Church – Library Indexed access to Swedenborg-related books, periodicals, and websites
• NewChurchHistory.org Large collection of articles on Swedenborgian history, by Swedenborgians; a collaboration of:
• HeavenlyDoctrines.org Complete Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg online
• The Bayside Swedenborgian Church Scans of the First Editions of many of Swedenborg's books
• Swedenborg Digital Library Contains electronic copies of many books by and about Swedenborg and the New Church
• Swedenborg Foundation Publisher of books by and on Swedenborg
• Swedenborg Society UK based publisher of books by and of Swedenborg
• Swedenborg Open Learning Centre (SOLC), UK
• The Academy of the New Church An educational institution of the General Church of the New Jerusalem
• History of the Swedenborgian Church of North America According to the Church itself
• Maine Lodge of Research: Swedenborg – The Church A well-written historical article
• http://www.shs.psr.edu/studia/index.asp?article_id=65

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2008)

His Eminence  George Pell AC
Archbishop of Sydney
See	Sydney
Appointed	26 March 2001
Predecessor	Edward Bede Clancy
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Domenica Mazzarello
Orders
Ordination	16 December 1966 by Grégoire-Pierre XV Agagianian
Consecration	21 May 1987 by Thomas Francis Little
Created Cardinal	21 October 2003
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth name	George Pell
Born	(1941-06-08) 8 June 1941 (age 71) Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne (1987 – 1996) Titular Bishop of Scala (1987 - 1996) Archbishop of Melbourne (1996 – 2001)

George Pell AC (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the eighth and current Archbishop of Sydney, serving since 2001.^[1] He previously served as auxiliary bishop (1987–96) and archbishop (1996–2001) of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.^[2] He was created a cardinal in 2003.^[3]

Early life and education[link]

Pell was born in Ballarat, Victoria, to George Arthur and Margaret Lillian (née Burke) Pell.^[3] His father, a non-practising Anglican whose ancestors were from Leicestershire in England, was a heavyweight boxing champion; his mother was a devout Catholic of Irish descent.^{[4][page needed]} During World War II, his father served in the Australian Defence Force.^{[4][page needed]} His sister, Margaret, became a violinist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.^[5] As a child, he underwent 24 operations to remove an abscess in his throat.^{[4][page needed]}

Pell received his early education at Loreto Convent and at St. Patrick's College, both in his native Ballarat.^[1] One of his classmates at St Patrick's was Paul Bongiorno.^{[4][page needed]} At St Patrick's, Pell played as a ruckman on the first XVIII from 1956 to 1959.^[5] He even signed to play with the Richmond Football Club.^[3] However, his ambitions later turned to the priesthood. Speaking of his decision to become a priest, Pell once said, "To put it crudely, I feared and suspected and eventually became convinced that God wanted me to do His work, and I was never able to successfully escape that conviction."^{[4][page needed]}

In 1960, he began his priestly studies at Corpus Christi College, then located in Werribee.^[1] One of his fellow seminarians at Corpus Christi was Denis Hart, Pell's future successor as Archbishop of Melbourne.^[4] Pell continued to play football and served as class prefect in his second and third years.^{[4][page needed]} In 1963, he was assigned to continue his studies at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome.^[5] He was ordained to the diaconate on 15 August 1966.^[3]

Priesthood[link]

On 16 December 1966, Pell was ordained a priest by Cardinal Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian at St. Peter's Basilica.^[2] He received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Urbaniana University in 1967, and continued his studies at the University of Oxford, where he earned a DPhil in church history in 1971.^[3] During his studies at Oxford, he also served as a chaplain to Catholic students at Eton College, where he celebrated the first Roman Catholic Mass since the English Reformation.^[4]

In 1971, he returned to Australia and was assigned to serve as an assistant priest in Swan Hill, where he remained for two years.^[3] He then served at a parish in Ballarat East from 1973 to 1983, becoming administrator of the parish of Bungaree in 1984.^[3] In 1982, he earned a Master of Education degree from Monash University in Melbourne.^[1] During his tenure in Ballarat East and Bungaree, he also served as Episcopal Vicar for Education (1973–84), director of the Aquinas campus of the Institute of Catholic Education (1974–84) and principal of the Institute of Catholic Education (1981–84).^[1] He was also editor of Light, the diocesan newspaper of Ballarat, from 1979 to 1984.^[3]

From 1985 to 1987, Pell served as seminary rector of his alma mater, Corpus Christi College.^[1]

Episcopacy[link]

Pell was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne and Titular Bishop of Scala on 30 March 1987. He received his episcopal consecration on 21 May 1987 from Archbishop Frank Little, with bishops Ronald Mulkearns and Joseph O'Connell serving as co-consecrators. He served as Bishop for the Southern Region of Melbourne (1987–96). During this time, he was a parish priest in Mentone.^[1]

Pell was named seventh Archbishop of Melbourne on 16 July 1996, receiving the pallium from Pope John Paul II on 29 June 1997. He was later appointed eighth Archbishop of Sydney on 26 March 2001 and again received the pallium from John Paul on 29 June 2001.

Pell was a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from 1990 to 1995 and a member from 2002. From 1990 to 2000 he was a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In April 2002, John Paul II named him President of the Vox Clara commission to advise the Congregation for Divine Worship on English translations of liturgical texts. In December 2002 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family, having previously served as a consultor to the council.

Pell has written widely in religious and secular magazines, learned journals and newspapers in Australia and overseas and regularly speaks on television and radio. In September 1996 Oxford University Press published his Issues of Faith and Morals, written for senior secondary classes and parish groups. His other publications include The Sisters of St Joseph in Swan Hill 1922–72 (1972), Catholicism in Australia (1988), Rerum Novarum – One Hundred Years Later (1992), Catholicism and the Architecture of Freedom (1999) and Be Not Afraid, a collection of homilies and reflections published in 2004. A biography of Pell was published by Queensland journalist Tess Livingstone in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

Church role[link]

Since Pell's appointment as Archbishop of Melbourne he has maintained a high public profile on a wide range of issues, while retaining a strict adherence to Catholic orthodoxy; with some dispute over the issue of Catholics and "primacy of conscience".^[6][7]

Pell worked co-operatively with his Anglican counterpart, Peter Jensen, on political issues while avoiding theological controversies. This was referred to in Sydney as "the ecumenism of the right". In defending the importance of religious belief in building a just society, Pell worked with representatives of non-Christian faiths, arguing in 2001 that "the most significant religious change in Australia over the past 50 years is the increase of people without religion, now about one fifth of the population. All monotheists, Christians and Jews, Muslims and Sikhs, must labour to reverse this. We must not allow the situation to deteriorate as it had in Elijah's time, 850 years before Christ, where monotheism was nearly swamped by the aggressive paganism of the followers of Baal."^{[citation needed]}

Styles of George Pell
Reference style	His Most Reverend Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Sydney

On 28 September 2003 Pope John Paul II announced that he would nominate Pell and 28 others to the College of Cardinals.^[8] In the consistory of 21 October he was created and proclaimed Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Domenica Mazzarello. For the first time ever, from Pell's elevation to the cardinalate in 2003 until Edward Bede Clancy's 80th birthday on 13 December 2003, there were three Australian cardinal electors (had a papal election become necessary), including Clancy and Edward Idris Cassidy, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Pell was one of the electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. It has been speculated that Pell served as a type of "campaign manager" behind Benedict's election.^[9] While there was a little speculation in the Australian media that he had an outside chance of becoming Pope himself, international commentary on the papal succession (aside from one Italian source) did not mention Pell as a contender. However, Pell was mentioned as a possible successor to Benedict XVI as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.^[10] This position was given to William Levada, former Archbishop of San Francisco. Pell remains eligible to participate in any future papal conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on 8 June 2021.

In 2006 Pell made a successful bid for Sydney to host the 2008 World Youth Day, one of the largest regular international gatherings of young people in the world, often attracting crowds of millions. The 2008 event brought Pope Benedict XVI on his first papal visit to Australia. "We take it for granted that people will always give to the poor and be concerned about social justice", Pell said soon after winning the bid, in remarks which spelled out his pastoral priorities. "But this doesn't just happen by itself. Many great civilisations have shown no regard for these values at all and have even considered them weaknesses...Every society requires a goodly percentage of active believers to ensure that the values of a fair go and respect for others are promoted, and passed on the next generation. World Youth Day will make a powerful contribution to this vital work".^{[citation needed]}

Views[link]

In the Australian context, Pell is regarded as a conservative on matters of faith and morals.^[11] He has often been wary of what he calls the "callousness" of unrestrained capitalism. He has written that a Catholic is someone who is not only a person of personal conscience but "is someone who believes Christ is Son of God, accepts His teachings and lives a life of worship, service and duty in the community. Catholics are not created by the accident of birth to remain only because their tribe has an interesting history."^[12]

Theology and worship[link]

[edit] Ad orientem liturgy

Pell supports, in the abstract but not as a proposal for immediate application, mandatory celebration of the Canon of the Mass with the ad orientem orientation of the priest, facing in the same direction as the congregation. "There's nothing like a consensus in favour of that at the moment. I think I would be in favour of it because it makes it patently clear that the priest is not the centre of the show, that this an act of worship of the one true God, and the people are joining with the priest for that."^[13]

Adam and Eve[link]

Asked by an Australian journalist in 2012 whether there had ever been a Garden of Eden scenario with an "actual" Adam and Eve, Pell said:^[14]

Adam and Eve are terms - what do they mean: life and earth. It’s like every man. That’s a beautiful, sophisticated, mythological account. It’s not science but it’s there to tell us two or three things. First of all that God created the world and the universe. Secondly, that the key to the whole of universe, the really significant thing, are humans and, thirdly, it is a very sophisticated mythology to try to explain the evil and suffering in the world.

Heaven and Hell[link]

Asked to describe his concept of Heaven for Australian TV in 2012, Pell said:^[14]

[I]n some sense we will be there as continuing persons. In some with a new heaven and a new earth with all the good things that we’ve done will be incorporated into the new heaven and new earth. How it will work out I don't know because, I think, physically and morally and intellectually we're at our peak at different stages in our life. How it will work out I’ve got no idea but that is the general outline of Christian teaching.

Asked about the subject of Hell, Pell said that he used the example of Hitler to explain the notion of a need for Hell: "You think Hitler might be in hell? Started the Second World War, caused the death of 50 million or would you prefer a system where Hitler got away with it for free?"

We Catholics generally believe that there is a hell. I hope nobody is there. I certainly believe in a place of purification. I think it will be like getting up in the morning and you throw the curtains back and the light is just too much. God's light would be too much for us. But I believe on behalf of the innocent victims in history that the scales of justice should work out. And if they don't, life is radically unjust, the law of the jungle prevails.

Ordination of women and priestly celibacy[link]

Pell supported Pope John Paul II's view that the ordination of women is impossible according to the church's divine constitution and has also expressed his opinion that abandoning the tradition of clerical celibacy would be a "serious blunder".^[15]

Society of St Pius X[link]

Pell has expressed agreement with the lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Traditionalist Catholic Society of St Pius X (SSPX). He has said that "I think it is certainly a worthy goal to try to reconcile that wing of the Church", but also insisted that the SSPX must accept the teachings of the Second Vatican Council before it can be fully reconciled with the Holy See, saying: "I think it would be quite incongruous wanting to be formally reconciled with the Church if you are explicitly disavowing key elements of Vatican II", among which he mentioned the teaching that "the state cannot coerce belief" and the council's "condemnation of anti-semitism".^[16]

Political issues[link]

Afghanistan and Iraq Wars[link]

Pell has written that he supported the Afghanistan War but believed that the Iraq War was "not morally justified".^[17]

Asylum seekers and refugees[link]

Pell has criticised the bipartisan policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers in Australia and called for "empathy and compassion" towards displaced peoples.^[18] Pell said that while a policy of detterence was justifiable, the practice of the policy was coming at too great a "moral cost".^[19] Describing conditions in some of Australia's mandatory detention camps in 2001 as "pretty tight and miserable" and "no place for women and children", Pell called for investigation of any maltreatment of detainees and said that, while Australia has the right to regulate the number of refugees it accepts, as a rich and prosperous country, it can "afford to be generous" and must treat refugees who reach Australia humanely.^[20]

Australian republicanism[link]

Pell was appointed a delegate to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 which considered the issue of Australia becoming a republic. Pell supported change, and called on Australia's political leaders to embrace the republic, noting "Without support from most of the front benches of both sides of the parliament, it would be wasteful to go to a referendum." Towards the end of proceedings, he called on conservatives to support change:^[21]

John Howard[link]

When John Howard departed the office of Prime Minister of Australia following the 2007 Australian federal election, Pell wrote that, along with Bob Hawke, Howard had been the outstanding figure of Australian life since Robert Menzies and that he had brought 11 years of prosperity and "changed Australian life for the better".^[22] Pell wrote that Howard "understood that traditional families are the cement which hold society together and he was generally supportive of Christian values". Pell said that Howard went a step too far on industrial relations policy and that the Iraq War did not go well, but that the "biggest blot on his record will remain the treatment of the refugees".^[22]

John F. Kennedy[link]

Pell describes himself as "an old Kennedy groupie" – referring to John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic President of the United States of America.^[11]

Barack Obama[link]

Following the 2008 election of Barack Obama as US President, Pell wrote for The Sunday Telegraph that "Obama is a superb orator with a gift for language and a capacity to inspire loyalty and hope" and that the "importance of a black President for the U.S.A. and the world cannot be underestimated; especially a black President with a Muslim father. No country in Europe could produce such a result."^{[citation needed]} Pell expressed a need for universal health care in the United States, but criticised Obama's support for abortion, saying that he had the "most anti-life voting record of any contemporary senator" which, Pell wrote, "contrasts strongly with his humanitarianism in many other areas". Pell said that Obama would have to move beyond the "radical left" if he wanted to "win over the middle ground in the fight for healing and prosperity".^[23] In a 2009 interview with The Catholic Herald, Pell said of Obama, "[H]is record on life issues is very, very bad indeed" and expressed his opposition to the Freedom of Choice Act.^[13]

Kevin Rudd[link]

When the Australian Labor Party replaced Kevin Rudd as its leader in 2010 and Julia Gillard became Australian Prime Minister of Australia, Pell wrote that "As leaders Rudd and Opposition leader Tony Abbott are historically unusual by Australian standards because both worship regularly and have publicly acknowledged the huge Christian contribution to Australia. The rise and fall of Kevin Rudd has no parallel nationally. While he talked himself out of his job with his inflated rhetoric, he had many virtues and Australia avoided recession. John Howard was voted out by the Australian public; Rudd's departure will leave a nasty taste in many mouths."^[24]

Atheist movements[link]

In a 2012 debate on Australian television, Pell said that it was possible for atheists to lead good lives and go to heaven:

when an atheist dies, like everybody else, they will be judged on the extent to which they have moved towards goodness and truth and beauty but in the Christian view, God loves everyone except those who turn his back turn their back on him through evil acts.

In the debate, Pell acknowledged Darwin's explanation of evolution from apes as the probable ancestry of human beings. Darwin, Pell said, had made a great contribution, and rejected assumptions that he was atheist:^[14]

Darwin was a theist because he said he couldn’t believe that the immense cosmos and all the beautiful things in the world came about either by chance or out of necessity. He said, “I have to be ranked as a theist.”... It’s on page 92 of his auto biography. Go and have a look.

However, Pell cautioned against applying Darwin's notion of "survival of the fittest" to human societies, saying Hitler and Stalin were the "personification of social Darwinism":^[14]

Because it is the struggle for survival, the strong take what they can and the weak give what they must and there is nothing to restrain them and we have seen that in the two great atheist movements of the last century.

Environmental concerns[link]

Pell aroused criticism from Senator Christine Milne of the Greens political party with the following comment in his 2006 Legatus Summit speech:^{[25][dead link]}

Some of the hysteric and extreme claims about global warming are also a symptom of pagan emptiness, of Western fear when confronted by the immense and basically uncontrollable forces of nature. Belief in a benign God who is master of the universe has a steadying psychological effect, although it is no guarantee of Utopia, no guarantee that the continuing climate and geographic changes will be benign. In the past pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate capricious and cruel gods. Today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

In a 2007 article for The Sunday Telegraph, Pell wrote that while climate had changed, he was '"certainly sceptical about extravagant claims of impending man-made climatic catastrophes, because the evidence is insufficient".^[26]

Responding to the Anglican bishop and environmentalist George Browning, who told the Anglican Church of Australia's general synod that Pell was out of touch with the Catholic Church as well as with the general community,^[27] Pell stated:^[28]

Radical environmentalists are more than up to the task of moralising their own agenda and imposing it on people through fear. They don't need church leaders to help them with this, although it is a very effective way of further muting Christian witness. Church leaders in particular should be allergic to nonsense..... I am certainly sceptical about extravagant claims of impending man-made climatic catastrophes. Uncertainties on climate change abound ... my task as a Christian leader is to engage with reality, to contribute to debate on important issues, to open people's minds, and to point out when the emperor is wearing few or no clothes.

Interfaith issues[link]

Islam[link]

Pell has written of a need to "deepen friendship and understanding" with Muslims in the post–11 September environment and has said that though there is a continuing struggle throughout the Muslim world between moderates and men of violence, he believes that, in Australia, "the moderates are in control".^[29]

In 2004, speaking to the Acton Institute on the problems of "secular democracy", Pell drew a parallel between Islam and Communism: "Islam may provide in the 21st century, the attraction that communism provided in the 20th, both for those that are alienated and embittered on the one hand and for those who seek order or justice on the other."^[30]

In 2006, at the Legatus Summit in Naples, Florida, Pell stated:^[25]

Considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited.

However, he added that the human factor of many Muslims being uncomfortable with the violence and harsh intolerance of traditional Islamic practices provides hope for positive change as has occurred in more moderate Muslim nations. He continued by:^[25]

....denouncing the blithe encouragement of large scale Islamic migration into Western nations [as] one example of the secular incomprehension of religion [and claimed that Islam has had a] detrimental impact on economic and cultural development at certain times and in certain places...

Judaism[link]

Pell has participated in many interfaith dialogues and celebrations involving Jewish people. In 2001, he told one such audience at Mandelbaum House that he had come from a strongly pro-Jewish family and of being saddened during his studies of history to find Christian ill-treatment of Jews. Pell spoke of the need to remember the Holocaust and of his visits to Concentration camps and of his support for the right of the state of Israel to exist. He praised the role of Vatican II and of Pope John Paul II in advancing the cause of Christian-Jewish dialogue and co-operation. Pell also spoke in praise of the Jewish psalms as "a body of prayerful literature" unequalled in any other tradition and singled out the Jewish prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel as authors for whom he has a deep love and Elijah as one whom he views as highly significant. Pell called on Christian and Jewish leaders alike to speak together and respectfully listen to each other, saying of the Christian-Jewish relationship:^[31]

During the last 30 or 40 years there has been a significant reduction in the amount of Christian anti-Semitism. We thank God for that. To adapt to our circumstances the word of Martin Luther King "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly". Our fortunes, as brothers, are inextricably linked.

During a televised 2012 debate with Richard Dawkins, Pell stated that he had "a great admiration for the Jews" and repeatedly condemned Adolf Hitler. During the course of the debate, ABC moderator Tony Jones sought to imply anti-Semitism in Pell's remarks regarding the relative intellectual development of ancient Jewish society with that of great powers like Egypt, as well as in Pell's comment that Germany was punished for its role in the Second World War.^[32]

In responding to a series of questions by Jones as to why God would "randomly decide to provide proof of his existence to a small group of Jews 2,000 years ago", Pell said that, while the intellectual life of the ancient Jews was not the equal of the surrounding great powers like Egypt, Persia and Chaldea, "Jesus came not as a philosopher to the elite. He came to the poor and the battlers". Jones cross examined Pell over his use of the word "intellectual" and Pell said (in reference to Biblical times) that "the little Jewish people, they were originally shepherds. They were stuck. They’re still stuck between these great powers."^[14]

Referring to events like "The Holocaust, to genocide, to famine", Jones asked why an omnipotent God would permit such events to occur. In response, Pell and Jones had the following exchange:^[14]

• Pell: That’s a mighty question. He helped probably through secondary causes for the Jews to escape and continue. It is interesting through these secondary causes probably no people in history have been punished the way the Germans were. It is a terrible mystery.
• Moderator: There would be a very strong argument saying that the Jews of Europe suffered worse than the Germans.
• Pell: Yes, that might be right. Certainly the suffering in both I mean the Jews there was no reason why they should suffer.

Pell's remarks were widely misreported and misinterpreted, leading to a clarification from his office - reported by The Times of Israel as an apology.^[33] Pell said that "... my commitment to friendship with the Jewish community, and my esteem for the Jewish faith is a matter of public record, and the last thing I would want to do is give offense to either" and that the Holocaust was "a crime unique in history for the death and suffering it caused and its diabolical attempt to wipe out an entire people."^[33][34]

Sexuality, marriage and bioethics[link]

Pell has received much attention for his attitudes to sexuality issues, particularly homosexuality. He has said that "Christian teaching on sexuality is only one part of the Ten Commandments, of the virtues and vices, but it is essential for human wellbeing and especially for the proper flourishing of marriages and families, for the continuity of the human race."^[35] Upon becoming Archbishop of Sydney, he stated "Any genuine religion has two important moral tasks; firstly, to present norms and ideals, goals for our striving; and secondly, to offer aids for our weakness, forgiveness and healing for every wrong doer and sinner who repents and seeks forgiveness."^[35]

Divorce[link]

Pell says that, outside exceptional circumstances such as relationships involving physical abuse, it is better for individuals and for society if couples do not divorce, particularly where children are involved.^[36]

In 2001, ABC radio's The World Today reported that Pell wanted a return to a divorce system based on the fault of one spouse. Pell told the program that, in an effort to "focus attention on the damage, personal and financial, that unfortunately often follows from divorce" he had prepared a list for public consideration of possible penalties to discourage divorce (particularly where fault by one party was involved); as well as benefits to support couples who stayed together. Other interviewees rejected these proposals: the Law Council's Garry Watts, said that benefits to children would not come and that Pell proposed to "imprison" unhappy parents in dysfunctional marriages. Canon Ray Cleary, director of Anglicare in Victoria, said a punitive response to divorce would be "out of touch with the realities of the modern world".^[37]

HIV / AIDS[link]

In 2009, Pell supported the comments made by Pope Benedict XVI in Africa in relation to controlling the spread of AIDS, in which the Pope reiterated the Catholic teaching that the solution to the AIDS epidemic lay not in the distribution of condoms, but in the practice of sexual abstinence and monogamy within marriage. The Pope said that AIDS could not be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which "can even increase the problem". In response to global coverage of these remarks, Pell said that AIDS was "great spiritual and health crisis" and a huge challenge, but that "Condoms are encouraging promiscuity. They are encouraging irresponsibility."^[38] Pell told the media.^[38]

The idea that you can solve a great spiritual and health crisis like AIDS with a few mechanical contraptions like condoms is ridiculous. If you look at the Philippines you'll see the incidence of AIDS is much lower than it is in Thailand, which is awash with condoms. There are condoms everywhere and the rate of infection is enormous.

The president of the AIDS Council of NSW, Marc Orr, said Pell's comments were "irresponsible" and "contradicted all evidence" that condoms reduced the transmission of HIV:^[39] Mike Toole (Burnet Institute) and Rob Moodie (Nossal Institute for Global Health) wrote in The Age that Pell had said a health worker from an African country told him that "people in remote areas are too poor to afford condoms and the ones that are available are often of very poor quality and weren't used effectively". Both professors argue that "this is not an argument against promoting condoms — it is an argument that we need to ensure that good quality condoms are affordable for everyone and are widely distributed with information about how to use them effectively" and concluded "the sexual abstinence message is clearly not working."^[40]

In 2010, in Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times, a book-length interview by German journalist Peter Seewald, Pope Benedict said that while the church did not consider condoms as a "real or moral solution", there were times where the "intention of reducing the risk of infection" made condom use "a first step" towards a better way. Pell released a statement saying this did not signal a major new shift in Vatican thinking.^[41]

As Archbishop of Sydney, Pell has strongly supported the work of Catholic health organisations such as St Vincent's Hospital and the Tree of Hope Centre in caring for those living with HIV/AIDS.^[42]

Stem cell debate controversy[link]

Pell supports research on the therapeutic potential of adult stem cells but opposes embryonic stem cell research on the basis that the church cannot support anything which involves "the destruction of human life at any stage after conception". Under Pell, the Sydney archdiocese has provided funding for adult stem cell research but has actively opposed moves by New South Wales Parliament to liberalise laws pertaining to use of embryonic stem cells.^[12][43]

In remarks made at a media conference, in June 2007 on a conscience vote overturning the state ban on therapeutic cloning, Pell said that "Catholic politicians who vote for this legislation must realise that their voting has consequences for their place in the life of the Church". Some members^[who?] of parliament condemned Pell's comments, calling them hypocritical and drawing comparisons with comments made earlier in the year by Sheik Hilali.^[44][45] Australian Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon referred Pell's remarks to the New South Wales parliamentary privileges committee for allegedly being in "contempt of parliament". Pell described this move as a "clumsy attempt to curb religious freedom and freedom of speech".^[46] In September the Committee tabled a report clearing him of this charge and recommending that no further action be taken.^[47]

Health[link]

In February 2010 it was reported that Pell "had a heart turn in Rome recently and that he's in hospital there or has been in hospital there". It is thought that Pell was taken to hospital when he first arrived in Rome after he collapsed due to ill health and exhaustion. He was released from hospital the same day and sources close to Pell said that he has been in good health since.^[48]

Eulogy reforms[link]

In February 2007 Pell instituted new guidelines when it comes for family members to speak at funerals. He said that, "on not a few occasions, inappropriate remarks glossing over the deceased's proclivities (drinking prowess, romantic conquests etc) or about the Church (attacking its moral teachings) have been made at funeral Masses."^[49] Pell's guidelines make it clear that the eulogy must never replace the officiating priest's homily, which should focus on God's compassion and the resurrection of Jesus.

Other roles[link]

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney takes the role of Visitor^{[citation needed]} of St John's College, a residential college within the University of Sydney. This is a largely ceremonial role but he can also be called upon to give guidance and resolve internal disputes. Under the direction of the archbishop the college associates itself with the interests of the church and its mission, particularly by the fostering of appropriate academic directions in education, charity, social justice, ethics and the environment.

Pell accepted the invitation to be patron of the Oxford University Newman Society and to deliver their inaugural St Thomas More Lecture on 6 March 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Pell is a regular contributor of articles for the Australian media, including regular columns for Sydney's The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

Accusation of sexual abuse[link]

In June 2002, Pell was accused of having sexually abused a 12-year-old boy at a Roman Catholic youth camp in 1961 whilst a seminarian. Pell vehemently denied all the accusations and was subsequently exonerated by an inquiry chaired by Justice Alec Southwell.

Pell stood aside,^[50] but did not resign, as archbishop as soon as the allegations were made public. The complainant agreed to pursue his allegations through the church's own process for dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct, the National Committee for Professional Standards (NCPS). The subsequent inquiry found that the accusations had not been established.^[51] Justice Southwell concluded:^[52]

[B]earing in mind the... very long delay, some valid criticism of the complainant's credibility, the lack of corroborative evidence and the sworn denial of the respondent, I find I am not 'satisfied that the complaint has been established'

Doubts about the handling of the accusation arose following the publication by the Australian Herald Sun on 6 October 2002 of details about the accuser, whose anonymity had been preserved in previous media coverage. As relayed by the Zenit news service, "Pell's alleged victim was, it turned out, a career criminal. He had been convicted of drug dealing and involved in illegal gambling, tax evasion and organized crime in a labour union. A commission probing the union devoted a whole chapter of its report to the man's activities. As the inquiry report noted, 'The complainant has been before the court on many occasions, resulting in 39 convictions from about 20 court appearances.'"^[53]

Published works[link]

• Pell, George (1977) (pamphlet). Bread, stones or fairy floss : religious education today. Melbourne: Australian Catholic Truth Society Publications. pp. 32. 
• Pell, George (1979) (pamphlet). Are our secondary schools Catholic?. Melbourne: Australian Catholic Truth Society Publications. pp. 28. 
• Pell, George (1982) (microfiche). An evaluation of the goal of moral autonomy in the theory and practice of Lawrence Kohlberg (Thesis). Clayton, Melbourne: Monash University. pp. 247. 
• Pell, George; Woods, Mary Helen (1996) (paperback). Issues of Faith and Morals. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 146. ISBN 0-19-553978-8. 
• Pell, George; Centre for Independent Studies (Australia) (1999) (oration). The Inaugural Acton Lecture on Religion and Freedom: Catholicism and the architecture of freedom. St Leonards, Sydney: Centre for Independent Studies. pp. 14. ISBN 1-86432-044-3. 
• Pell, George (2004). Livingstone, Tess. ed (paperback). Be not afraid : collected writing. Sydney: Duffy &​ Snellgrove. pp. 306. ISBN 1-876631-97-X. 
• Pell, George (2007). Casey, M. A.. ed (paperback). God and Caesar: Selected Essays on Religion, Politics, and Society. Bacchus Marsh, Victoria: Connor Court Publishing. pp. 189. ISBN 978-0-8132-1503-7. 
• Pell, George (2010). Test Everything: Hold Fast to What Is Good. 

See also[link]

• St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
• St John's College, University of Sydney

Bibliography[link]

• Livingstone, Tess (2004). George Pell: Defender of the Faith Down Under (American ed.). San Francisco: Ignatius Press. pp. 491. ISBN 0-89870-984-9. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sunday Telegraph Columns
• Sydney Catholic archdiocese website

Charlotte Church
Church performing at Selfridges in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Charlotte Maria Reed
Born	(1986-02-21) 21 February 1986 (age 26) Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales
Origin	Cardiff, Wales
Genres	Pop, Celtic, classical, classical crossover, operatic pop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Sony Music (1998-2006) Power Amp Music (2010-Present)
Website	charlottechurch.co

Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed; 21 February 1986) is a Welsh^[1] singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide^[2] including over 5 million in the United States.^[3] In 2010 she was reported to be worth as much as £11m^[4] (though one 2003 report quoted her worth at £25m^[5]). She hosted a Channel 4 chat show titled The Charlotte Church Show. Church released her first album in five years, titled Back To Scratch, on 17 October 2010. She is also mentioned as one of the Bohemians in Ben Elton's musical We Will Rock You.

History[link]

Early life[link]

Charlotte Church was born Charlotte Maria Reed in Llandaff, a district of Cardiff, Wales. She was brought up as a Roman Catholic by her mother, Maria, who was separated from Church's biological father, Stephen Reed. Church was adopted by her mother's second husband, James Church in 1986.^[6] Her break came at 11 when she sang Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" over the telephone on the television show "This Morning" in 1997, followed by her performance on ITV's Big, Big Talent Show in 1997.^[7] This led to concerts at Cardiff Arms Park, the Royal Albert Hall and opening for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp. She also received a vocal scholarship to Howell's School Llandaff in Cardiff where she started in 1998 after leaving The Cathedral School, Llandaff. She balanced performing and school with help from tutors for when she was on the road and said in many interviews that she was "just like every other girl her age".

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

1998–2005: Classical career[link]

Church was then introduced to the Cardiff impresario Jonathan Shalit, who became her manager and negotiated a contract with Sony Music. Her first album, Voice of an Angel, was a collection of arias, sacred songs, and traditional pieces that sold millions worldwide and made her the youngest artist with a No. 1 album on the British classical crossover charts.

Church appeared on PBS specials. Her self-titled second album also included operatic, religious and traditional tracks. One, the soaring and inspirational Just Wave Hello, was the centre piece of a millennium-themed ad campaign for the Ford Motor Company. The song's full-length video, featuring Church, won acclaim at the Detroit Auto Show and introduced her to new fans. The track reached No. 31 in Britain.

In 2000, she released Dream a Dream, an album of Christmas carols. It included Church's first foray into a more pop-influenced style in the title track Dream a Dream, borrowing the melody from Fauré's Pavane and featuring young American country singer Billy Gilman. Church also sang with Gilman in "Sleigh Ride" on his CD Classic Christmas.

In 2001, Church added more pop, swing, and Broadway with her album Enchantment. That year, Church made her first film appearance in the 2001 Ron Howard film A Beautiful Mind. Celine Dion was beginning a concert engagement in Las Vegas and was not available to perform the film's end title song, "All Love Can Be", so composer James Horner enlisted Church and the song was rewritten for her vocal range. Church also handled other vocal passages throughout the score.

In 2002, at 16, she released a "best of" album called Prelude, and took part in the Royal Christmas tour alongside Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, concluding her classical music career.

2005–09: Pursuing pop career; Tissues and Issues[link]

Charlotte Church signing her music single in 2005

In 2005, Church issued her first pop album Tissues and Issues. Four singles were moderately successful in the UK with "Crazy Chick" reaching no. 2, "Call My Name" number 10, "Even God Can't Change the Past" number 17, and "Moodswings (to Come at Me like That)" number 14. Although these were released in Australia as well, they failed to reach the same level of success there, and in March 2006 it was announced that there would be no US releases of Church's pop work until she had achieved a number 1 hit in the UK.^{[citation needed]} Tissues and Issues accounted for no more than 2% of her total sales.^{[citation needed]} Church's pop album was released in the U.S. through Amazon.com MP3 shop, and iTunes in 2009.

In April 2006, she performed three concerts in Glasgow, London, and Cardiff, in venues holding between 2,000 and 3,000 people; the dates at London and Cardiff were sold out. Supported by Irish band the New Druids, Church performed a mix of tracks from her debut pop album and a number of pop covers including Prince's "Kiss" and Gloria Estefan's "Rhythm is Gonna Get You". Though Church hinted at the possibility of a full tour in the future, none took place.

In November 2006, it was announced that she and Sony had parted ways. According to her publicist, this was a mutual decision reached after a series of meetings throughout the year, which were held since her five and later six album deal had come to an end. There was some speculation that Church had decided to take a break from her singing career, in order to focus on her television show. Others suggested that the performance of her pop releases in the charts also contributed to the decision.^[8] Soon, she became pregnant with her daughter, Ruby Megan Henson, and this was widely believed to have contributed to the decision.

In 2007, Church became Patron of the charity The Topsy Foundation UK,^[9] helping to raise awareness and funds for its work to support rural communities in South Africa, empowering people infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, through medical care, social support and skills development.

Articles emerged in the UK press in March and April 2008 stating that she was still training classically and was contemplating a return to classical crossover at some point. Church has sung in religious services in Taizé. She has also performed before Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and Bill Clinton.

In June 2008, she again became pregnant, this time with her son, Dexter Lloyd Henson. In Church's latest interview, she mentioned she would be ready to work on more music a few months after she was fully recovered from her second pregnancy, and Dexter was a little bit older, though was not sure whether she would further develop her classical career, her pop career, or both as she loves both genres for different reasons, and plans to work on both genres but needs to be in a creative state of mind to continue work on her second Pop album. Church also mentioned that she has been working with a vocal instructor to keep her voice in check during, and after her second pregnancy, and while she has never put a focus on her body image, she would like to get back into the shape she was in before becoming a mother when she resumes work.

In June 2009, Church was interviewed for 'Hello!' magazine,^[10] and discussed her life since having her second child. She said that she was currently in the studio, resuming work on a new album. She mentioned that Henson had been strongly encouraging her to get back to work, and pursue her career that she has greatly missed since settling down.

[edit] 2010–present: Return to Music and Back to Scratch

This section may need to be updated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information. (April 2011)

Church appeared on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on 13 March 2010, where she confirmed that she had already begun writing and recording her sixth studio album. Church also stated that the album was of a different sound to previous, more mature with a "kooky" vibe.

On 4 August 2010, Church made a new track, "Cold California", available to download from her Web site .^[11]

Church's new album, Back to Scratch, was released in the UK on 25 October 2010. The 14-track set has been produced by Martin Terefe. Back to Scratch was preceded by a single - the LP's title track - on 24 October. "Back to Scratch" was originally inspired "by problems facing a family member", but Church admitted in a press release that the song now has resonance to her own personal life following her recent split from Gavin Henson.^[12] Other tracks confirmed for the album include "Ruby", originally recorded by French singer Camille and written by Euston Jones, "Logical World", "Story Of Us", "Don't Think About It" and "Cup Of The Sun".^[12] Back To Scratch will also feature "The Actors", which Church performed on BBC One talent contest Over The Rainbow in May, and a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River".^[12] A video featuring a snippet of another song from the album, "Snow", is available to watch on the singer's YouTube channel and is currently streaming on her official Web site.^[12] On 6 September 2010 Church posted a short video to her official YouTube channel showing her being filmed for the video of the lead single and title track "Back to Scratch" in the background the song can be heard playing.^[13] It was announced on 13 March 2011 that Church had terminated her $3 million (£2 million)deal with Power Amp Music over promotional disputes. Her spokesperson released the following statement "All I can really say, because of the confidentiality issues, is that it was in Charlotte's financial interests to do so before the agreement entered the second year of its term. This is typical for these type of deals, which are investment deals rather than record deals. I can also say that the decision to terminate the term early, which suited both parties, was made well before the commercial release of the album." A spokesperson from the record label also released a statement saying "It didn't work out with Charlotte and that's fair enough. There was no falling out. It was a mutual decision. They decided to exit the deal."

The third single to be released from the album, Snow was released on 11 April 2011.