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Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Catholic official to be convicted of child sexual abuse before his 2020 acquittal, died Jan. 10 at age 81.
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Constantine II, the last king of Greece, died at the age of 82 on January 10.
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Adam Rich, an actor who rose to fame as a child playing the youngest member of the Bradford family, Nicholas, on the television drama "Eight Is Enough," died Jan. 8 at age 54, according to the county medical examiner. of the Angels.
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Marcio Freire, legendary Brazilian surfer (shown in this photo on the right wearing a white necklace), died on January 5 riding giant waves in Nazaré, Portugal.
Support personnel on jet skis managed to get the 47-year-old man to the beach, but all attempts to revive him failed.
Freire was one of three Brazilian surfers who became known as the "Mad Dogs" -- like the 2016 documentary -- after conquering the giant wave "Jaws" in Hawaii.
(Credit: Getty Images)
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Walter Cunningham, a retired NASA astronaut who piloted the first flight in the space agency's famed Apollo program, died January 3.
He was 90 years old.
This photo shows Cunningham aboard Apollo 7 in October 1968. (Credit: NASA)
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Professional rally driver and YouTube star Ken Block was killed in a snowmobile accident on Monday, January 2.
He was 55 years old.
Before embarking on his career as a rally driver, Block co-founded the sportswear company DC Shoes in 1994, which became one of the most recognized skatewear brands in the world.
(Paulo Oliveira/DPI/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
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Fred White, drummer for the classic 1970s band Earth, Wind & Fire, died on January 2, according to an Instagram post by his older brother and former bandmate, Verdine White.
He was 67 years old.
With the band, White won six Grammy Awards and was nominated a total of 13 times.
In the year 2000, Earth, Wind & Fire was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
(Credit: Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images)
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Art McNally, the "father of instant replay" and the first game official to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Jan. 1 at age 97.
(CNN) --
Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Catholic official to be convicted of child sexual abuse before his acquittal in 2020, has died, according to his secretary.
He was 81 years old.
Father Joseph Hamilton confirmed Pell's death Tuesday night local time after he was hospitalized in Rome for hip replacement surgery.
Hamilton said that while the operation was successful, Pell subsequently went into cardiac arrest.
Born in the regional city of Ballarat, Australia, on June 8, 1941, Pell rose through the ranks of the Roman Catholic Church to become Vatican treasurer, considered by many to be the third most important position within the church.
He served in that role from 2014 to 2019 and led Pope Francis' financial reforms, which largely stalled when he was recalled to Australia to face allegations of sexual abuse.
He was found guilty of those charges in 2018 and served 13 months in prison before being acquitted by the Australian High Court in April 2020. Pell categorically denied the allegations, which he called in a 2016 police interview a "figment of fantasy." ".
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In its two-page summary of the ruling, the High Court said the jury "should have been in doubt as to the applicant's guilt" and ordered the convictions set aside.
In a statement, the Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, expressed his sadness at Pell's death.
“This news is a huge shock to all of us.
Pray for the repose of Cardinal Pell's soul, for the comfort and consolation of his family and all who loved him and mourn him at this time," he said in a Facebook post.
Cardinal George Pell