Cardinal Pell was a key figure of the Australian Catholic Church, the
international Catholic Church and was fundamentally involved in the
establishment of Australian Catholic University (ACU).
Since the 1970s Cardinal Pell held more than 20 significant leadership
positions in Catholic higher education in Australia.
Cardinal Pell was a member of the Amalgamation Implementation Committee
which established ACU and was appointed as its Foundation Pro-Chancellor.
He also served as President of the ACU Corporation. He also served as
Rector of Aquinas College in Ballarat, President of the Institute of
Catholic Education in Victoria, Rector of Corpus Christi College, Clayton,
Founder of the Melbourne session of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage
and the Family, Chancellor of the Catholic Institute of Sydney, and a
Co-Founder of the Sydney campuses of the University of Notre Dame
Australia.
In 2015, ACU conferred an honorary doctorate on Cardinal Pell for a
lifetime of outstanding contribution to the Catholic Church in Australia
and internationally, to ACU and the advancement of Catholic higher
education in Australia, and to the Catholic intellectual tradition.
ACU Chancellor, the Honourable Martin Daubney AM KC, said that Cardinal
Pell was a central figure in the formation and foundation of the
university. “From the time of its inception, Cardinal Pell maintained a
deep and abiding interest in ACU. The Church and its institutions in
Australia and abroad are indebted to Cardinal Pell for his leadership and
contribution to our community. His death will be felt by many in the
Australian church and the wider community. We join with all people of faith
in praying for the repose of his soul.”
ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis said that
Cardinal Pell had played a significant role in bringing the founding
colleges together to establish the university. “As Foundation
Pro-Chancellor, Cardinal Pell was instrumental in ensuring that ACU was set
up for success. He was extraordinarily generous in lending his expertise to
ACU. I regularly had the benefit of his advice, which was always thoughtful
and always greatly valued.”
