Cardinal George Pell’s Funeral Marked by Heated Exchange Between Supporters and Protesters

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 02: A police officer cycles past members of the church forming a procession leading the hearse carrying Cardinal George Pell outside St. Mary’s Cathedral on February 02, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. Cardinal George Pell, a former senior Catholic Church official who was accused of sexual violence in Australia and then cleared, died on 10 January 2023 aged 81 years old. His body was returned to Sydney after his funeral at the Vatican and will lie in state at St. Mary's Cathedral on Feb. 1 and 2. Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Tension rose outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney as protesters clashed with the Catholic faithful during the solemn funeral of Catholic Cardinal George Pell.

As the casket of the conservative former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney was carried outside the cathedral for the public procession to his burial crypt, some protesters cried “shame” and played Highway to Hell from a portable speaker.