Cardinal George Pell has asked why there is so much suffering in the world.

In his Easter message published in The Australian newspaper, Cardinal Pell discussed the sexual abuse crisis damaged thousands of victims.

He said everyone suffers, prompting questions about what to do.

“Why is there so much evil and suffering. And why did this happen to me,” he said.

Cardinal Pell was released from prison on Tuesday after Australia’s High Court quashed five convictions for child sexual abuse, over allegations he assaulted two choirboys at a Melbourne Cathedral in the 1990s.

The High Court’s decision has prompted calls for court transcripts of Victorian sex offence cases to be made public, in a bid to promote greater transparency.

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“I have just spent 13 months in jail for a crime I didn’t commit, one disappointment after another,” Cardinal Pell wrote.

“From many points of view the crisis is also bad for the Catholic Church, but we have painfully cut out a moral cancer and this is good,” he said.

George Pell leaves Barwon Prison. Photo: Getty

The cardinal also recognised the coronavirus pandemic as a unique moment for people of his generation and younger.

While the virus could be compared to the Spanish flu pandemic of the Black Death, we have capacity now to fight the infection intelligently and mitigate its spread, he said.

-with AAP