A funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for transgender activist Cecilia Gentili, including controversial eulogies, sparked outrage and accusations of sacrilege.
The Archdiocese of New York apologized for the event, which featured prayers for transgender rights and offensive remarks.
Critics condemned the funeral as inappropriate for a place of worship, with Fox News contributors expressing dismay over the lack of vetting.
🚨Anti-Catholic group of trans “activists” stage a mockery of the Christian faith INSIDE St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC:
The mob staged a supposed funeral service for Cecilia Gentili, a transgender, atheist prostitute during who they eulogized as: "This whore. This great whore.… pic.twitter.com/7w0wmifzkH
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) February 16, 2024
“For Catholics, this is a catastrophe. And how this happened at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, we have to figure out who vetted this person. We know from the organizers they lied. They kept the fact that this was a trans activist and an atheist under wraps,” Fox News’ Raymond Arroyo said.
“This is not a Broadway theater, this is not a club. This is a house of worship. You must come on the terms of the church,” he said.
“To have this happen there of all places [in] America’s parish, is all kinds of wrong,” Fox News’ Anita Vogel said.
The Archdiocese claimed ignorance of the nature of the event and offered a Mass of Reparation.
“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,” the Archdiocese of New York stated.
“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. 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,” the statement said.
“At the Cardinal’s directive, we have offered an appropriate Mass of Reparation.”
Despite this, dissatisfaction and accusations of hypocrisy persisted from both critics and the Gentili family.
“Everybody can come and repent and be a part of God’s kingdom, but you can’t come here and stage a protest like this. It was a sacrilege to yell out Saint Cecilia while they’re singing the Ave Maria, or do the kind of frantic dances,” Arroyo said.
“They had horrible posters up, people in fishnets and thongs. I’m sorry, if they’d been lied to, when you saw the crowd coming in with Billy Porter doing a dance, that was probably a good indication this should have been called off. It’s an outrage, and America needs answers,” Arroyo said.
“The only deception present at St. Patrick’s Cathedral is that it claims to be a welcoming place for all,” the Gentili family said.
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