As the funeral of Cardinal George Pell commenced with a procession of clergy and the singing of the great Wesleyan hymn Love Divine, Loves Excelling – shouts and the din of protest outside were heard inside St Mary’s Cathedral.

Someone close to the building was blowing a whistle to disrupt and unsettle.

My thoughts turned to the victims of child sex abuse, thinking the sound I was hearing was a cry from the heart of people whose lives have been traumatised by unspeakable acts perpetrated upon them by wicked and criminal priests who had betrayed Christ.

Undoubtedly there were some in this category shouting in...