At a service station hundreds of kilometres further back along the Hume Highway in Victoria, he spoke briefly to members of the media as he walked from his parked car, saying life in prison was "not too bad". When asked if he was surprised by Tuesday's verdict, Cardinal Pell replied: "Not in the slightest." "I was very pleased," he added. He did not respond when asked if he believed his accuser was a liar.

The 78-year-old seemed relaxed and in good humour in his interaction with reporters and cameramen. Asked by a journalist of his experience behind bars for more than 400 days, he responded, with a smirk on his face: "Before you arrived, it was better here."

Immediately after stepping out of his car, he made light of his attire, saying: "I'm sorry I'm not dressed a bit better, but I didn't expect this." The cardinal was dressed casually in a light-coloured buttoned shirt, a blue jacket with the zip undone, black slacks and black shoes, with a red pen placed in his shirt pocket. He was not wearing a clerical collar and walked slowly with a slightly hunched back.

Exiting the service station, he asked the press pack to move out his way and allow a path back to his waiting car. "Excuse me, social distance," he said as he gesticulated with his arms for the huddle to make way.

Inside the service station he was holding a product that appeared to be a phone charger.

The cardinal was the archbishop of Sydney from 2001 before leaving in 2014 for the Vatican, where he was Pope Francis' finance chief.

Sydney Morning Herald

Photo Channel 7

After waking on his first day of freedom in more than a year, Cardinal Pell left the Carmelite Monastery in Melbourne for a 10-hour road trip to Sydney.

Looking tired, he arrived at around 9pm at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Homebush where he has lived briefly in the past. (...)He didn't comment as the car pulled into the seminary's driveway in front a large media pack and a heavy police presence.

Canberra Times