Daniel Andrews ‘couldn’t think of anything more distressing’ for victims than a state funeral for George Pell

Victorian premier says those abused at the hands of the Catholic church' are foremost in his thoughts

• George Pell's death could renew distress for Ballarat's child abuse survivors
• What the five-year royal commission into child sexual abuse found
• Obituary: Australia's most powerful Catholic, dogged by scandal
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Two Australian state governments will not offer taxpayer-funded public funerals for Cardinal George Pell, with the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, saying his decision was made out of respect for victims of institutional child sexual abuse.

The nation's most senior Catholic, who was a former archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney, died on Wednesday morning (AEDT) from heart complications arising from hip replacement surgery in Rome. He was 81.

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