Current:Home > ContactNew York Archdiocese denounces transgender activist’s funeral and holds Mass of Reparation -Secure Growth Solutions
New York Archdiocese denounces transgender activist’s funeral and holds Mass of Reparation
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:17:10
The funeral of a renowned transgender activist in a New York cathedral elicited a denunciation of the event by a senior church official, who called the mass a scandal within one of the preeminent houses of worship in U.S. Catholicism.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York condemned the funeral of Cecilia Gentili, which was held in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan and drew a large audience on Thursday.
Gentili was known as a leading advocate for other transgender people, as well as sex workers and people with HIV. A post on her Instagram account announced her death on Feb. 6 at age 52.
In a written statement released Saturday, the Rev. Enrique Salvo, pastor of Saint Patrick’s, thanked people he said had informed the church that they “share our outrage over the scandalous behavior” at the funeral.
“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,” Salvo said in the statement.
The cathedral held a Mass of Reparation following the funeral at the direction of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, Salvo said.
“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,” he said.
A former sex worker who suffered addiction and was jailed at Rikers Island, she became a transgender health program coordinator, a nonprofit policy director for an established gay men’s health organization, GMHC, and a lobbyist for health equality and anti-discrimination legislation, among other advocacy work.
Gentili founded the COIN Clinic, short for Cecilia’s Occupational Inclusion Network, a free health program for sex workers through the Callen-Lorde community health organization in New York.
“New York’s LGBTQ+ community has lost a champion in trans icon Cecilia Gentili,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on X, formerly Twitter, following Gentili’s death.
Gentili acted in the FX television series “Pose,” about the underground ballroom dance scene in the 1980s and 1990s. She also performed two one-woman stage shows.
“I am an atheist, but I am always asking God for things,” Gentili said in “Red Ink,” her autobiographical show touching on topics including her childhood in Argentina and lack of religious faith.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a Manhattan architectural and tourist landmark, has been the site of funerals for numerous prominent New Yorkers including Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Babe Ruth and emergency responders who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
Videos of Gentili’s funeral mass show an estimated audience of more than 1,000 celebrants, including transgender people and other friends and supporters chanting her name, applauding, singing and offering praise of her stature as a leading light of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
“Except on Easter Sunday we don’t really have a crowd that is this well turned out,” said Father Edward Dougherty, who presided over the mass.
Conservative group CatholicVote condemned fellow “Pose” actor Billy Porter, whose singing performance during the funeral was characterized by the group as a mockery of the “Our Father” prayer. “This is just unbelievable and sick,” CatholicVote said on X.
In a statement before the song, Porter called Gentili a leader among “an entire community of people who transformed my life forever.”
“Grief is singular, it’s individual. Please know that however you grieve is what’s right,” Porter said. “There’s no right or wrong way to grieve. But just make sure that you do, you allow yourself to do that, so that we can get to the other side of something that feels a little bit like grace.”
veryGood! (6)
Related
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Are banks, post offices open on Halloween? What to know about stores, Spirit Halloween hours
- Record-breaking cold spell forecast for parts of the U.S. on Halloween
- Cutting-edge AI raises fears about risks to humanity. Are tech and political leaders doing enough?
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Drivers in Argentina wait in long lines to fill up the tanks as presidential election looms
- 3 Social Security surprises that could cost you in retirement
- Matthew Perry mourned by ‘Friends’ cast mates: ‘We are all so utterly devastated’
- Average rate on 30
- Army said Maine shooter should not have gun, requested welfare check
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Boris Johnson’s aide-turned-enemy Dominic Cummings set to testify at UK COVID-19 inquiry
- Stellantis expects North American strike to cost it 750 million euros in third-quarter profits
- Mary Lou Retton says she’s ‘overwhelmed’ with love and support as she recovers from rare pneumonia
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Record-breaking cold spell forecast for parts of the U.S. on Halloween
- Chinese factory activity contracts in October as pandemic recovery falters
- Connecticut police officer under criminal investigation for using stun gun on suspect 3 times
Recommendation
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
Connecticut police officer under criminal investigation for using stun gun on suspect 3 times
Iranian teen Armita Geravand, allegedly assaulted by police for flouting strict dress code, has died
Jeff Wilson, Washington state senator arrested in Hong Kong for having gun in carry-on, gets charge dismissed
Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
Venezuela’s high court has suspended the opposition’s primary election process, including its result
Kirk Cousins injury updates: Vikings QB confirmed to have suffered torn Achilles
NFL trade grades: Breaking down Leonard Williams deal and others through 2023 deadline