Protesters at George Pell’s funeral were dragged out of Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral for whistling

Outside the funeral of Cardinal George Pell, protesters marched around the cathedral and blew their whistles before being brutally dragged away by police.

There was a tense scene outside St Mary’s Cathedral. sydney Thursday as hundreds of protesters clashed with Catholic mourners before and during Pell’s burial

Pell, Australia’s oldest Catholic, is buried in Sydney after he died in January from complications of a hip replacement.

Hundreds of protesters gathered across Sydney roads hyde park before marching to the end of the street with rainbow flags and banners.

Footage showed a man with a rainbow umbrella walking around the restricted area outside the cathedral and whistling loudly.

Some police were seen talking to a man, who asked, “What am I doing wrong?”

A man wearing a face mask and a “facts not facts” T-shirt walked away from police and continued to blow his whistle along the perimeter of the fence.

Police outside the exclusion zone approached and surrounded the man, who repeatedly shouted, “No, I didn’t do anything.”

‘What am I doing? I have a right to be here,” he said.

Four police officers then surrounded the man, pushed him away from the cathedral, vigorously grabbed his umbrella, and marched him to a waiting rice field wagon.

New South Wales Police confirmed to the Daily Mail Australia that the man had been “moved” from the protest but had not been arrested.

A police spokesperson said no arrests have been made at the event so far.

Early on Thursday, protesters were heard chanting “George Pell go to hell, take Dutton there too.”

Protesters were allowed to stand in the middle of the road just meters from the mourners and chant for about five minutes.

Some mourners verbally abused them and confronted the police, who stood between the two groups, demanding they be moved.

Protesters marched down College Street after being displaced by police.

After negotiations with police, a heated scene was created after protesters were allowed to gather outside to hold a protest during the funeral.

New South Wales Police tried to stop the protests in the Supreme Court, citing “safety concerns”, but said there were “alternatives” for protesters to take alternative routes. was broken.

Protesters were allowed to march through Hyde Park and stand in the square outside the cathedral.

Activists are protesting Cardinal Pell’s open opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion rights, as well as the child sexual abuse conviction for which he was ultimately acquitted.

Thousands of mourners gathered at the cathedral on Thursday, including groups of nuns, politicians and dignitaries.

Former Prime Minister John Howard and opposition leader Peter Dutton were spotted arriving at the funeral earlier in the day.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet did not attend the service.

NSW MP Damien Tudehope will represent the NSW Premier by ‘pre-commitment’.