NSW Premier and fellow Catholic Dominic Perrottet will not attend the requiem mass on Thursday for the 81-year-old former Catholic archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, but is urging people to behave respectfully.

"I would say to everybody across our state today it's a time to come together and show respect," Mr Perrottet told reporters on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Damien Tudehope will attend the service as a representative of the premier.

Police Commissioner Karen Webb filed an urgent application to the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday to block the protest by LGBTQI group, Community Action for Rainbow Rights.

Police have concerns about public safety during the protest, which is due to take place directly across the street from the cathedral at Hyde Park during the 11am service.

Justice Robert Beech-Jones adjourned the matter until Wednesday afternoon to allow further negotiations between the parties over the proposed protest route.

Cardinal Pell died last month and was given a traditional funeral at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

A procession of about 100 people accompanied the controversial cardinal's body on Wednesday as it was transferred by hearse along Sydney's College Street to the cathedral, where he is lying in state.

Two masses will be held at the cathedral on Wednesday, followed by an evening vigil.

Thousands of mourners are expected to attend the requiem mass before the cardinal is buried in a private ceremony in the cathedral crypt.

Survivors of clerical abuse and their supporters surrounded the cathedral in a silent protest on Wednesday morning, attaching ribbons in a rainbow of colours to the fence, which were removed by security guards before being replaced.

Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said police respected the right of people to protest but there were safety concerns that hadn't been resolved during negotiations.

"There's a number of aspects within the form that was launched by the organisers that we believe present a risk to public safety," he told ABC TV.

Paul Auchettl, whose late brother was a victim of clerical abuse by a priest under the leadership of Cardinal Pell in Ballarat during the 1970s, spent the morning tying ribbons to the church.

"Tying a ribbon becomes a sacred act. What you're doing is trying to honour someone who might not be here anymore or who's struggling," he told AAP.

Throughout the morning, drivers in passing cars honked horns in support of the colourful protest, while survivors cried and bonded over their collective trauma.

Veronica Eldridge, whose late husband endured abuse as a child, and Nicky Davis, who is a survivor, say they feel buoyed by the show of support.

"I'm actually feeling really empowered because we are having our say," Ms Davis said.

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.