Australian Cardinal George Pell’s funeral sparks protests as mourners gather

• Pell passed away at the age of 81 in a hospital in Rome.
• Numerous people attended the funeral.
• mourners and protestors clashed in Sydney on Thursday.

At the funeral service for Australian Cardinal George Pell, a former senior Vatican official who was cleared of sexual abuse charges in 2020, mourners and protestors clashed in Sydney on Thursday.

After protest organizers decided to alter their original plan and congregate on a road close to the funeral venue, St Mary’s Cathedral, Australian police officials stated they had dropped their legal effort to ban the gathering. The protest drew hundreds of participants.

Since Pell passed away at the age of 81 in a hospital in Rome last month from heart issues following hip surgery, his body has been lying in state.

Numerous people attended the funeral, including Peter Dutton, the head of the federal opposition, and former prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard. A large number of people watched on large screens set up outside the cathedral.

In a eulogy, Abbott praised him as “the finest Catholic Australia has ever produced” and “one of our country’s greatest sons.”

There were a few mourners who raised their rosaries in response to the demonstrators’ slogans, but there was no visible evidence of physical confrontation between the two sides.

On Wednesday, tensions erupted after television footage showed someone on church premises seen removing colorful ribbons protesters had wrapped along the cathedral’s fence.

According to the protesters, the ribbons represented the suffering endured by victims of child sexual assault.

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