I note that the secular media is hyping up Pell as a close adviser of the pope. While technically true, it misses so many levels of complexity and context.

Pell, a darling of the the Catholic right, owes his elevated status in the church to the misjudgements of St JPII and Benedict, not to Francis.  One of a pope's main tasks is to hold the Church together -- a task that the previous two popes did not manage very well. In pursuit of this duty, Francis has sought to give the Catholic right some representation in his cabinet, in the person of Pell, and also assigned Pell the theologically neutral task of dealing with the finances. However, I doubt that Pell has significantly influenced any of Francis's reforms that do not relate to finance. As a climate-change denier, he certainly did not support Laudate Si.

Even though I do not like Pell, I pray that he will be exonerated of the charges.