The Archdiocese of New York denounced the “scandalous” and “sacrilegious” behavior that over 1,000 funeral-goers took part in as they mourned the death of transgender activist and actress, Cecilia Gentili, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral late last week.
A funeral was held for Gentili on Thursday, the day after Ash Wednesday. Due to the holy significance of the Lent season, the Catholic community was outraged following the service, as the pastor of St. Patrick’s Cathedral put it in a statement on Saturday.
“Thanks to so many who have let us know they share our outrage over the scandalous behavior at a funeral here at St. Patrick’s Cathedral earlier this week,” Very Reverend Enrique Salvo wrote. “The Cathedral only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral Mass for a Catholic, and had no idea our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way.”
Videos of the funeral posted on social media show attendees eulogizing Gentili by saying, “This whore. This great whore. St. Cecilia, Mother of all Whores!” This statement mocked the real St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music and musicians, who is recognized in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches.
In another video, Father Edward Dougherty joked that the funeral service, which he officiated, brought in the largest crowd he had seen since Easter Sunday. Gentili was a former prostitute and self-professed atheist, the New York Times reported Thursday. According to the newspaper, many of the service’s attendees wore “daring outfits” and were transgender.
“That such a scandal occurred at ‘America’s Parish Church’ makes it worse; that it took place as Lent was beginning, the annual forty–day struggle with the forces of sin and darkness, is a potent reminder of how much we need the prayer, reparation, repentance, grace, and mercy to which this holy season invites us,” Salvo said.
An appropriate mass of reparation was held at the cathedral under New York cardinal Timothy Dolan’s directive, the pastor noted. Archdiocese of New York spokesman Joseph Zwilling confirmed the mass of atonement had already occurred, according to the Times.
In response to the archdiocese’s statement, Gentili’s family defended the service and accused the church of “hypocrisy and anti-trans hatred.” In her family’s eyes, the late actress is considered a saint “for how she ministered, mothered, and loved all people regardless of HIV, immigration, or employment status.”
“Her heart and hands reached those the sanctimonious Church continues to belittle, oppress, and chastise, and she changed the material conditions for countless people, including unhoused people and those who needed healthcare,” the family said in a statement on Saturday. “The only deception present at St. Patrick’s Cathedral is that it claims to be a welcoming place for all.”
St. Patrick’s Cathedral has been the site of protests over the church’s position on homosexuality and AIDS in the past, especially during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
“Gentili’s homegoing service will live on in history as a radical act of love and mourning for a revolutionary saint in our community,” the family stated.