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Police are maintaining a heavy presence around Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral as Cardinal George Pell's funeral service gets under way, with thousands of mourners paying their final respects.

The cathedral is full, with some watching on screens erected outside.

The former Catholic archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney will be laid to rest after the requiem mass on Thursday, following his death in Rome last month aged 81.

NSW Police riot squad units are outside the cathedral to ensure a buffer zone is maintained between mourners and protesters, who are gathering in Hyde Park.

Among the hundreds of mourners were Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, media personality Alan Jones and divisive politicians Mark Latham and Matt Canavan.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is not at the service.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns are also not present.

An 11th hour compromise was reached on Wednesday to allow a protest organised by LGBTQI group Community Action for Rainbow Rights to proceed.

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

Police clashed briefly with protesters as they removed a sign claimed to be unlawfully fixed to a point across the road from the cathedral.

"We're not here to cause trouble, we're here to bring attention to the abuse, that's all," protester Max Elbourne told AAP.

Theresa Guzzo, who flew from New Zealand to attend the service, told AAP she was against the presence of protesters at the funeral and felt Cardinal Pell had become a "scapegoat" for animosity towards the church.

"For me it's just inappropriate to do your protesting at the funeral where we're saying goodbye to him, no matter what your belief is," Ms Guzzo said.

She said she initially "strongly" believed allegations of child abuse against Cardinal Pell, but no longer did after he was cleared by the Federal Court and she reviewed the evidence.

Another mourner, who asked not to be named, said she understood the protesters' feelings and called for mutual respect.

"Respect has to go two ways,'' she said.

"If people are grieving then you have to honour the deep anguish and sorrow that people may be experiencing.

"But then there's a different kind of anguish and sorrow potentially on the other side of the road and so it's a difficult line to walk."

Rally organiser Kim Stern said the protesters would abide by police directions as they chanted and heard speeches by LGBTI and abortion rights activists.

"We want a strong, loud, vibrant and visible rally to oppose everything Pell stood for," he said.

Thousands of colourful ribbons attached to the cathedral's gates in memory of those who suffered sexual abuse by clergy were removed overnight.

Tensions flared briefly about 9am on Thursday when several mourners tried to remove ribbons tied to a small area of cathedral fence where the church had allowed them to be tied.

"What was meant to be an act of healing has become an act of destruction," said Loud Fence, a supporter of the ribbon movement.

Cardinal Pell's conservative stance on issues including gay marriage and abortion rights had been the subject of criticism and he faced allegations of covering up child abuse.

© AAP 2023

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Police will maintain a buffer zone between protesters and the thousands of mourners expected to attend the funeral service for Cardinal George Pell at St Mary's Cathedral.

The former Catholic archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney will be laid to rest after an 11am requiem mass on Thursday, following his death in Rome last month at 81.

Former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are expected to be among the mourners but neither NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet nor Opposition Leader Chris Minns will attend the service for the controversial figure.

Thousands of colourful ribbons attached to the cathedral's gates in memory of those who suffered sexual abuse by clerics were removed overnight.

Police initially tried to block the protest outside the cathedral by LGBTQI group Community Action for Rainbow Rights, before a compromise 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.

Acting Assistant Police 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, (be) respectful of each other," he said.

Cardinal Pell's conservative stance on issues including gay marriage and abortion rights had been the subject of staunch criticism, and he faced allegations of covering up child abuse.

Protest organiser Kim Stern said the rally would be peaceful but "loud, vibrant and visible".

"It's a real slap in the face of survivors that they have taken the ribbons off but it's really important that we keep the pressure on the Church," he told ABC TV on Thursday.

Cardinal Pell was the Vatican's top finance minister before leaving Rome in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne on 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 2023

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Daytime television psychologist "Dr. Phil" McGraw says he plans to end his talk show after 21 years in the coming months, but viewers haven't seen the last of him.

Dr. Phil was the most prominent spinoff from Oprah Winfrey's show, which once dominated daytime TV. The Texan's program debuted in September 2002 after he had been featured as a regular guest on Winfrey's.

"With this show, we have helped thousands of guest and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellness and raising children," McGraw said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but while I'm moving on from daytime, there is so much more I wish to do."

The traditional US broadcast TV season ends in the northern spring. There was no date given for Dr Phil's final show.

McGraw, 72, said he wants to focus on prime-time programming and is planning an unspecified project for early next year.

In the meantime, while new episodes won't be made, the show won't disappear from TV. CBS Media Ventures, which syndicates his program, said it will offer stations a package of reruns with occasional new wraparound content for future seasons.

© AP 2023

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Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement.

Brady -- the most successful quarterback in NFL history, and one of the greatest athletes in team sports -- posted the announcement on social media on Wednesday morning, a brief video lasting just under one minute.

"Good morning guys. I'll get to the point right away," Brady said as the message began. "I'm retiring. For good."

He briefly retired after the 2021 season, but wound up coming back for one more year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He retires aged 45, the owner of numerous passing records in an unprecedented 23-year career.

A year ago when he retired, it was in the form of a long Instagram post. But about six weeks later, he decided to come back for one more run.

The Buccaneers -- with whom he won a Super Bowl two seasons ago -- made the playoffs again this season, losing in their play-off opener. And at the time, it begged the question about whether Brady would play again.

Only a couple weeks later, he has given the answer.

"I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I'd just press record and let you guys know first," Brady said in the video.

"I won't be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year.

"I really thank you guys so much, to every single one of you for supporting me. My family, my friends, teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There's too many.

"Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn't change a thing. Love you all."

Brady is the NFL's career leader in yards passing (89,214) and touchdowns (649). He's the only player to win more than five Super Bowls and has been MVP in the sport's biggest game five times.

Famously underrated coming into the NFL -- he was picked 199th in the 2000 draft by the Patriots, behind six other quarterbacks, three kickers and a punter -- Brady certainly wasn't expected to become synonymous with greatness.

He played in one game as a rookie, completing one of three passes for six yards.

The next year, it all changed.

Brady took over as the Patriots' starter, the team beat the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl that capped the 2001 season, and he and New England coach Bill Belichick were well on their way to becoming the most successful coach-QB duo in football history.

More Super Bowl wins came after the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The Patriots returned to football's mountaintop for a fourth time in Brady's era a decade later to cap the 2014 season, the start of three more titles in a span of five years.

In 2020, he joined the Buccaneers and won his seventh Super Bowl. He spent his last three years with Tampa Bay, getting them to the play-offs in each of those seasons.

"I think I've been on the record dozens of times saying there's no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady, and I still feel that way," Belichick said in 2021.

Brady has won three NFL MVP awards, been a first-team All-Pro three times and selected to the Pro Bowl 15 times.

Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen last year finalised their divorce after 13 years of marriage.

It was announced last year that when Brady retires from playing, he would join Fox Sports as a television analyst in a 10-year, $US375 million ($A530 million) deal.

© AP 2023