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There have been tense scenes outside the funeral of Cardinal George Pell as Catholic supporters clashed with protesters and one man was dragged away from the cathedral for blowing a whistle outside the service.
Australia’s most senior Catholic is being laid to rest on Thursday at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney after he died aged 81 from complications arising from hip replacement surgery in January.
Hundreds of protesters gathered over the road in Hyde Park before marching to the edge of the street carrying rainbow flags and banners.
They were allowed to stand in the middle of the road chanting ‘George Pell, go to hell’ for about five minutes, just a few metres from more than a thousand mourners outside the cathedral.
Some mourners shouted abuse at the protesters and confronted police, who stood between the two groups, demanding they be ordered to move.
The protesters eventually marched down College St after they were moved on by police.
The man later clashed with LGBTQI protesters outside the mass
The whistle-blowing man (pictured) was dragged away from the cathedral by the police and told not to come back
Daily Mail Australia also filmed an irate Pell supporter confronting protesters outside the Sydney cathedral on Thursday morning just before the funeral started.
The supporter, dressed in a grey T-shirt and shorts, yelled at two protesters holding a ‘Pell burn in hell’ banner across the road from the cathedral with the word ‘hell’ painted as if it was on fire.
‘We want that taken down,’ the supporter told the police officer, who was trying to calm the man.
The supporter then spoke directly to the two protesters holding the sign.
‘Take it down, you’re aggravating a lot of f**king people,’ he said.
A woman next to him, dressed in business clothes, was holding a sign that read ‘anti-Catholic bigotry must end’.
The cathedral was packed for the requiem mass for Cardinal George Pell before he is buried in Sydney
Police outside the cathedral ensuring no protesters make it into the service
Police managed to get the protesters to move the signs (pictured) further away from the cathedral
The Catholic supporter clashed with protesters while a woman next to him held a sign that read ‘anti-Catholic bigotry must end’
The man could then be heard asking a protester if they had ‘looked in the mirror’ and asked them ‘are you a dyke?’.
‘Dyke’ is a homophobic slur, typically used against lesbians.
‘I do not respond to dykes so please move, you’re a dyke, that’s not hate speech. Go film your own people, you are not welcome here, go take your f**king sign off, get your people to move, they can go f**k themselves,’ he yelled.
More than a thousand mourners lined up for hours in the hot sun for a chance to get inside the church to watch Cardinal Pell’s funeral, in a queue that stretched around the edge of the cathedral square and up College Street.
The well-wishers included a multitude of ethnicities and nationalities with ages ranging from the elderly to newborn babies, as well as dozens of nuns in white and purple habits, and monks in their cowls.
Catholic men’s group Knights of the Precious Blood had a dozens-strong contingent in their black shirts and entire workplaces attended together in uniform.
Many wore crucifixes or held rosary beads, muttering prayers for Cardinal Pell.
Only a small number made it inside, the rest staying in the square to watch the funeral on large TV screens.
Hundreds of mourners take the eucharist while Pell’s mass is held inside
Hundreds of Sydneysiders queued in the sun for hours to take the eucharist
About 10.15am, a few hundred mourners kneeled on the stone paving to chant the rosary for 15 minutes.
As the funeral began, volunteers handed out orders of service for mourners outside to follow, including hymns and prayers they sang and recited in unison.
Some used them in a desperate attempt to shield themselves from the sun, while a small number came prepared with umbrellas.
Every speech, all glowing with praise for Cardinal Pell, were followed by clapping and cheering.
Former prime minister John Howard was spotted arriving at the funeral just before it started as well as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott (pictured right) inside the cathedral. He spoke at the service
Former prime minister John Howard arriving to pay his respects to Cardinal George Pell
Radio broadcaster Alan Jones (pictured centre) also attended the service but appeared to sit alone
Nuns arriving to pay their respects to George Pell
Thousands are expected to attend St Mary’s Cathedral to farewell George Pell
Opposition leader Peter Dutton arriving at the cathedral to pay his respects to George Pell
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NSW Police on Wednesday predicted there would be clashes after hundreds of protesters were given the green light to hold a protest outside the funeral.
The activists are protesting Cardinal Pell’s public opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion rights as well as a child sexual abuse conviction that he was ultimately cleared of.
It comes as officers were called to the cathedral late Wednesday night after mourners approached child abuse activists who had been tying ribbons to the fence.
Footage captured by 9News showed supporters of the cardinal allegedly shouting at the silent protesters.
Police officers were seen breaking up the crowd and talking to people following the clash.
The Today Show filmed police officers sweeping the church on Thursday morning.
‘They have done a sweep inside the church. There are the last half-a-dozen police cars stationed here,’ reporter Lara Vella said.
‘They have been keeping a close eye on a particular group of men who have been doing laps of St Mary’s Cathedral. I have seen them lots and lots of times.’
Clashes outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney ahead of Cardinal George Pell funeral
Riot police out in force on Thursday morning ahead of the funeral
Clashes outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney ahead of Cardinal George Pell funeral. Picture: 9News
Hundreds of mourners gather outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney
NSW Police announced it would attempt to stop the protest in the Supreme Court over ‘safety concerns’ on Tuesday.
But the court was told on Wednesday that ‘alternative arrangements’ to use a different route had been made with protest organisers had been made.
Protesters have been allowed to march through Hyde Park and stand at the square outside the cathedral.
Outside court, Acting Assistant Commissioner Martin Fileman told media it was ‘never the intention’ to stop or oppose any protest activity.
He said there was a ‘risk’ of clashes between protesters and Pell supporters, which is why the ‘buffer zone’ will ‘mitigate the risk’.
CARR organiser Kim Stern told media the action by NSW Police was an attempt to ‘suppress our democratic right to protest’.
Police mix with mourners outside St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday morning
‘They tried to stop us from marching next to the church, they wanted us to march in the opposite direction … they claimed it was a security issue, a safety issue,’ Mr Stern said.
‘I think if we were denied the right to march right up opposite the church… those people would have been very happy if they could have gone in unperturbed by that.’
Mr Stern said it was a massive victory for the activists, who will be able to have their voices heard.
‘Now we’re able to march up right opposite the church and have our voices heard, have a loud, visible, angry rally that’s going to be hearing from survivors of abuse in the Catholic Church,’ he said.
Cardinal Pell served 406 days of a six-year sentence over child sexual abuse allegations but always maintained his innocence.
The High Court overturned the decision in 2020.
