Police will maintain a “buffer zone” between protesters and mourners outside a funeral service for the late Cardinal George Pell at St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday.

The former Catholic archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney will be laid to rest at a mass at 11am following his death in Rome earlier this month at age 81.

Police initially attempted to block a planned action outside the event by LGBTQI group Community Action for Rainbow Rights before an agreement was reached late on Wednesday.

Protest organisers agreed not to march on College Street directly next to the cathedral but will be allowed to gather on the other side of the road within earshot of mourners.

NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Martin Fileman said the “buffer zone” would help mitigate the potential for clashes between protesters and mourners.

“We ask that people attending on both sides, that they’re respectful of each other and that they comply with police directions,” he said.

Cardinal Pell’s controversial stance on issues including gay marriage and abortion rights has been the subject of staunch criticism since his death, as well as allegations he committed and covered up child abuse while in a position of power within the Church.

Protest organiser Kim Stern told media on Wednesday he expected police and media attention directed at the rally would add to the number of people who attended.

“We’re now able to march up, right opposite the church and have our voices heard — have a loud, visible, angry rally,” he said.

Survivors of abuse and campaigners who fought to achieve same-sex marriage in Australia are among those expected to address the crowd of protesters within metres of the cathedral doors.

Cardinal Pell was the Vatican’s top finance minister before leaving Rome in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne for child sexual abuse offences.

He was convicted the following year of molesting two teenage choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral while archbishop in 1996.

Cardinal Pell maintained his innocence and in 2020 his convictions were quashed by the High Court.

-AAP