Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will be among the mourners,his office said,alongside senior NSW minister Damien Tudehope,representing the state government,and Senator Don Farrell,representing the Commonwealth.
Pell’s close friend,conservative former radio broadcaster Alan Jones,is expected to attend,but Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop,Kanishka Raffel,will not.
The late cardinal’s coffin,marked by a plain crucifix,was driven to St Mary’s Cathedral on Wednesday morning,followed by a parade of mourners that included Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and the Maronite bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay.
A senior priest carried Pell’s red biretta.
The hearse pulled up next to a fence decorated with colourful paper ribbons,which had been tied by survivors of sexual abuse in the church in an act of remembrance of the lives lost and hurt by clerical abuse. They stood by in silent protest.
One mourner,on her way out of a service to receive the body,said it was a sad day for Catholics across Australia. “He’s controversial because he stood up for the truth of Christ,” she said. “His legacy is a huge generation of young priests and better-educated Catholics.”