Pell's secret memo casts shadow at cardinal's funeral

Pope Francis attends a funeral of Cardinal George Pell in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis gave a funeral blessing to Cardinal George Pell on Saturday as revelations that he wrote an anonymous memo branding the current papacy a "catastrophe" hung in the air along with the incense.

About 300 people attended Pell's funeral Mass in a secondary chapel of St. Peter's Basilica. In keeping with tradition for deceased cardinals, the Mass was said by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Italian Giovanni Battista Re.