CNA Staff, Feb 21, 2024 / 18:05 pm (CNA).
Priests at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City were surprised by the “irreverence and disrespect” that occurred during a funeral for a transgender activist last week, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said, in his first public comments on it.
“We didn’t know the background. We don’t do FBI checks on people who want to be buried,” Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said during his podcast Tuesday.
He said cathedral staff try to be welcoming when someone requests a funeral.
“All they know is somebody called and said, ‘Our dear friend died. We’d love to have the funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It would be a great source of consolation. She’s a Catholic. It would be a great source of consolation for us, her family and friends.’ And of course, the priest at the cathedral said, ‘Come on in. You’re more than welcome,’ ” Dolan said.
The priests at St. Patrick’s made a decision at the beginning of the service not to celebrate a funeral Mass but to conduct a funeral service with no Mass instead.
It was the right thing to do given the situation, the cardinal said.
“I applaud our priests who made a quick decision that, ‘Uh-oh, with behavior like this, we can’t do a Mass. We’ll do the Liturgy of the Word, which is the readings, and the sermon, and the prayers of petition, and the Our Father, and then we’ll stop it. The Mass is not going to go on,’ ” Cardinal Dolan said. “Bravo for our cathedral people, who knew nothing about this that was coming up.”
Meanwhile, though, supporters of the deceased are demanding an apology from the Archdiocese of New York for what they described as “cutting short” the Feb. 15 funeral service of Cecilia Gentili, 52, a male who identified as a woman who died Feb. 6. Supporters of Gentili also want an apology for what they called “the painfully dismissive and exclusionary language” used in a statement released by the pastor of the cathedral after the funeral.
“The current narrative from St. Patrick’s Cathedral leadership that they were manipulated by funeral organizers of the identity of Ms. Gentili is simply not true,” an organization called Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society said in a written statement. “Funeral organizers advised Cathedral staff to look up Cecilia Gentili, her work, and the community she served. To now place responsibility on the funeral organizers to have affirmatively disclosed the gender identity of their loved one is imposing a burden upon the mourners that would not be expected of a non-transgender person.”
However, the New York Times reported that the funeral’s organizer did not disclose to the cathedral that Gentili, who died Feb. 6 at age 52, was a biological man who identified as a woman.
“I kept it under wraps,” Ceyeye Doroshow, the service’s organizer, told the outlet.
The organization also suggested that cathedral staff violated the Catholic Church’s law.
“Still reeling from the pain of Cecilia’s loss, community members are asking for an explanation for this decision which seemingly violated Catholic Canon Law governing the denial of funeral [M]asses,” the organization said. “… Ms. Gentili’s service ended an hour earlier than had been scheduled, thus denying her the full funeral mass that was agreed upon.”
Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, contacted by CNA on Wednesday, said the archdiocese had no immediate comment on the Gentili supporters’ statement.
Asked by email who decided to replace the funeral Mass with the shorter funeral service, Zwilling said the decision “was made by the priests at the cathedral after witnessing what was taking place.”
A video of the service posted online last week shows that shortly after the procession down the aisle, the presider, Father Edward Dougherty, looking out into the crowd, said with a laugh: “Well, welcome to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Except on Easter Sunday, we don’t really have a crowd that is this well turned out, you know?”
After a short delay, the crowd responded with more than 40 seconds of clapping, standing, and cheering, with occasional chants of “Cecilia.”
During the ovation, the video shows, a priest dressed in black approached Father Dougherty and told him “No Eucharist,” eventually followed with the words “A funeral service, no Mass.”
Outburst at funeral
As CNA reported last week, the prayers of the faithful during the service included a call for “Cecilia’s community” to “have access to life-affirming health care” — an apparent reference to gender transitioning — to raucous applause.
Two of the three eulogies were critical of Catholic teaching on human sexuality. Doroshow, a male who identifies as a woman, who wore a purple dress, said Gentili “worked so hard to make sure girls like me, boys like you are safe, are grounded, got health care, that sex workers are free.” A standing ovation followed the “sex workers” reference.
A man who delivered a third eulogy used a Spanish word for “whore” several times. Another man lauded the deceased as “This whore, this great whore, St. Cecilia, mother of all whores.” Raucous applause and a standing ovation followed.
On Tuesday, Cardinal Dolan addressed the Gentili funeral about five minutes into his podcast, after discussing a few other topics, including the recent shooting at the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City. Dolan mentioned that he had received “a note of solidarity” from Harrison Butker, the Kansas Chiefs kicker, about what Dolan described as “the irreverence and disrespect” of the crowd at the funeral, and the “very irreverent and disrespectful” eulogies.
The cardinal asked the cathedral staff to celebrate a Mass of reparation after the funeral service, which the pastor, Father Enrique Salvo, said last week was done.
“In a way, it’s redundant,” Cardinal Dolan said Tuesday. “Because every Mass, every Mass is the renewal of the infinitely powerful act of reparation that Jesus did on the cross, correct? He’s the one that made reparation. We can’t do much. All we can do is unite with him on his cross in his sacred act of reparation. There is a bit of an arrow in the quiver of the Church’s treasury of prayer that if a particularly sacrilegious or scandalous act has occurred in a church, it would be good to offer a Mass in particular reparation for that act of irreverence. So we did that.”
Father Salvo released a written statement Feb. 17, two days after the funeral, acknowledging what he called “outrage over the scandalous behavior” during Gentili’s 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.
Some mainstream media news stories last week hailed the funeral as a shift in the Catholic Church’s approach to gender identity. Cardinal Dolan expressed frustration Tuesday with criticism by some Catholics of the cathedral staff and his archdiocese.
“We have a lot of misunderstanding. Why in the world our people out there still believe what the secular press reports is beyond me,” Cardinal Dolan said.
Later, he added: “Our policy at the cathedral is to be as open and welcoming of anybody who wants to be buried from here. And we had absolutely no idea about this. But why people still think the cathedral purposely did that? Well, a lot of people always want to believe the worst. And they don’t like us any more than the protesters did, in the cathedral. But who knows.”
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
So according to the Cardinal this is all just a “misunderstanding” by faithful Catholics because we credulously believe “what the secular press reports”? As a matter of common sense it is obvious that there was gross negligence or (more likely) wilfull complicity on the part of the Cathedral staff, yet according to the Cardinal “of course” they properly just said Sure, no problem and no FBI checks, we are welcoming to anybody who wants to have a funeral mass at the most prominent Catholic Church in the United States, which happens to be one of the most prominent targets for those who despise the Church’s teachings. Given the trans people’s statement today, perhaps there will be litigation now with discovery into what was actually said and not said by whom. But regardless, the Cardinal’s words treat faithful Catholics with thinly disguised contempt.
Was the church lax in not asking or securing adequate information? Could be a yes or no. Could it have been that no one expected the deceased to be transgender? Could it be that no one was prepared for that? Real easy to judge and criticize.
Today, and for too long a time, a lot of people except to get what it is they want even if want they want is not allowed, be that for legal or religious reasons. Or because a topic, an issue hurts their feelings! Seems that if someone decides that they want something, that automatically converts into they should have it . And that if refused, it is stated that the person(s) doing the refusal are prejudiced, homophobic, racist, unsupportive, mean; pick a word. And of course, add violating one’s personal civil rights. There seems to be a great absence of personal responsibility and emotional maturity.
Whither one accepts, or does not accept, the position of the Catholic Church in this instance does not change that position. Not accepting does not give any one the right to violate them.
I have sometimes wondered how it would work if someone wanted to become a Cubs or Bear player but insisted, they would not accept or follow some of the rules and regulations.
I don’t understand his this could have happened. Here in Ireland the priest visits the home of the deceased were the body is being waked from two or three times before the funeral to speak with the family, enquiries about the deceased life and to say prayers. You don’t just turn up to mass on the day of the funeral with a body ? Very strange if that’s the case who knows who you are burying it could was be a satanist!
Surely the clergy at St Patrick’s Cathedral interviewed the organisers before the funeral? Isn’t this the normal pastoral thing to do as part of the funeral process. If they had, they would have discovered the real motives behind the so called service, and could have then nipped it in the bud, as inappropriate for a Catholic liturgy. They could then suggest instead it be located in a funeral home, or somewhere else. Cardinal Dolan’s comments are somewhat contrived.
Cardinal Dolan says “we didn’t know” and we are supposed to believe him. I DON’T believe him.
And if they really didn’t know – THEY SHOULD HAVE. There is NO excuse for this.
Now the clowns who are responsible for this say they feel disrespected, and are demanding an apology.
Life in America
Something ironic about his face in front of Mother Angelica’s.
Speaking of, she had a beautiful funeral esp the music; can’t remember if they did any eulogies.
I hope my parish isn’t so lackadaisical about its funeral policies.
I listened to a portion of podcast that covered the incident. In it, Cardinal Dolan surrenders on a major point by referring to the male deceased as a “she”. He completely exonerates his staff, including the celebrant, who was clearly entertained by the spectacle. Then, he equates critics, who were rightly scandalized, with the perverts.
So when my DH passes on, and I call St. Patrick’s for the funeral, no problem, right?
Sure.
You can’t make this stuff up. Notice the names; are these real? Ceyeye Doroshow (See eye Do- road-show?), and Cecelia Gentili (Genitalia?).
WOW. Yours is truly a clever eye. Too bad St. Pat’s staff doesn’t have such talent.
No factional pot-stirring, here, recalling that Pope Benedict also blundered in the same way when he unwittingly exonerated the schismatic Pius X’s Bishop Williamson—the Holocaust denier. An object lesson (!), presuming of course that Benedict’s loyal support team was also unaware… https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/25/pope-benedict-richard-williamson
AND, it’s not about “FBI checks.” Hyperbole!
Instead, it’s about a simple, ten-second search of the Internet on requests from whatever walk-ons are not on the parish roster. Like non-blessings for irregular “couples,” do we now spontaneously distribute even church keys to perfect strangers? Like the State and the corporate world, the Church is being ANNEXED (!) by the homosexual lifestyle.
Are the clergy really satisfied serving as ornaments on someone else’s key chain?
And this is just the opening salvo. What will be the future excuses when the nation of gay culture, under the cover of FS, orchestrates such spectacles in every parish in the nation? A brilliant battle plan to bring church attendance down to just the final remnant. It’s not as though phony progressives will be inspired to start attending, and it’s not as though our episcopate will begin to consider the damage they do by their conceits.
? And what if a search on the internet does not reveal what is needed?
Pope Benedict XVI made it clear that he was unaware of the statements of Bishop Williamson and was heartbroken. In no way, shape, or form is Pope Benedict’s reaction to learning of Bishop Williamson’s statement regarding the Holocaust, similar to the reaction of cardinal Dolan who certainly appears to be dismissive of the profanity that occurred during the funeral service that occurred at a Catholic Church by those who felt the funeral service, because it did not involve The Sacrament Most Holy, The Sacrament Divine, somehow justified the use of profanity, and the attempt to make His Father’s House, “a house of traffic.”
Blasphemy not only against Christ and His Body, but blasphemy against the Sanctity and Dignity of their own bodies.
“With Love, comes responsibility.”
“Penance, Penance, Penance.”
The “Ignorance is bliss” school of administration as I would speculate with a dose of “don’t ask, don’t tell”
1) “We had absolutely no idea about this.” I don’t believe that statement and if it is true – that is inexcusable.
2) “A lot of people always want to believe the worst and they don’t like us any more than the protesters did, in the Cathedral. But who knows.”
We don’t WANT to believe the worst, but we’re getting used to it.
I work in a small rural parish and we meet with the families before a funeral to discuss what is and isn’t allowed, and plan everything so all are in the know. I don’t ever recall friends requesting a funeral for someone, but I suppose it could happen. There is also discussion regarding the burial.
Eulogies are not part of the liturgy. We have never allowed them. We tell folks to save it for the reception or at the graveside. Too many times even well meaning people have hijacked the Mass because of them.
I don’the think the staff planned properly, but I also don’t think they saw this coming. You can’t control what people in the pews are gonna do, especially if they aren’t Catholic. The funeral organizer Doroshow should have disclosed the gender identity to the staff so that the deceased could be properly prayed for at least.
Seems like poor planning and plenty of blame to go around. The cathedral needs to revise their policies regarding funerals.
“We don’t do an FBI check.” A little sarcasm goes a long way.
What will His Eminence plead as excuse when the next cathedral outrage occurs? Imagine a group of bestiality-practitioner-polyamorous-AIempoweredtranshuman-pedophilic drones, pre-assembled, making their presence known, with batteries included.
SURE! Not to worry. The sacramental power of the Mass will deconstruct and exorcise desacralization, sacrilege, and blasphemy. All evil will become mute, obsolete, and powerless.
The faithful ought to be ashamed, attending to secular news stories. The faithful err because they ought to only attend to the power of Christ to cast out demons and make everything holy again. Casting aspersions or worrying about damage to the faith and
Church property is really a bit overwrought.
Members of Francis’ New York church can plead the secular fifth or blame the faithful till their tongues turn to tar. They elicit a tragicomic pathos. Let us wear our sackcloth and eat ashes while they feast on their beast.
A secular dime is worth more than this apology.
Yes, Eminence Dolan, we all understand:
A. you don’t do FBI checks for funerals…
B. those are only for the Latin Mass Catholics.
And now, what’s for lunch at the Archbishop’s mansion?
Our dear friend has died. We’d love to have the funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It would be a great source of consolation. She’s a Catholic. It would be a great source of consolation for us, her family and friends.’ And of course, the priest at the cathedral said, ‘Come on in. You’re more than welcome.’
Bob Dylan’s Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest seems apropros: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/bob-dylan/the-ballad-of-frankie-lee-and-judas-priest-chords-14967
Appears the good Cardinal is exaggerating for effect. A simple common-sensical checking by Saint Patrick’s staff would have been sufficient.
How many checks do a bride and groom go through to get married in St. patricks?
The buck never stops with this guy…the “Teflon Cardinal.” And if blaming everybody but himself doesn’t work, he resorts to sarcasm. He insults the Body of Christ with his remark about the cathedral staff not being the FBI. Cardinal, just do what any reasonable person would do when an unknown person comes asking for a funeral/wedding/baptism at the cathedral i.e. find out some basic information about them before proceeding.
“We don’t do FBI checks on people who want to be buried,…”
Presumably a funeral service is for someone who has died. How does Dolan know what the dead person wants? If he doesn’t have FBI check on people who want burial, would he seek them on people who want to be cremated?
Failure to ask the primary question “Is the person a Catholic, please show me the baptismal record?” Are/were they a practicing Catholic? Done, now you know and decide how to proceed. Further, discussion of the funeral proceedings with the pastor as well as bereavement/funeral committee is an absolute that needs to be done. Music allowed, eulogy (when, how long), other items that any liturgist and liturgy committee is required to do prior to the Mass and/or Service. This went off the rails early on failure to apparently do any of the above.. but it is a misunderstanding? And, when will priests, Bishops, Cardinals stand tall and say NO when this was getting out of hand?
“We didn’t know the background. We don’t do FBI checks on people who want to be buried.”
Your cathedral is the subject of a massive worldwide scandal, and *this* is your response?
Maybe those people calling for him to step down or onto something.
^are
From the article:
*
Two of the three eulogies were critical of Catholic teaching on human sexuality. Doroshow, a male who identifies as a woman, who wore a purple dress, said Gentili “worked so hard to make sure girls like me, boys like you are safe, are grounded, got health care, that sex workers are free.” A standing ovation followed the “sex workers” reference.
*
A man who delivered a third eulogy used a Spanish word for “whore” several times. Another man lauded the deceased as “This whore, this great whore, St. Cecilia, mother of all whores.” Raucous applause and a standing ovation followed.
*
The canonized St. Cecilia is honored as a virgin martyr. Night and day difference.
Dolan pleads ignorance but James Martin SCH knew enough beforehand to back out of the event before it happened. What’s the likelihood that Martin knew something Dolan didn’t?
“We don’t do checks,” says the Metropolitan Archbishop of New York.
We only take them.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I’m an 81 yr old catholic and went to catholic grammar school in Queens. I also remember being beaten by the Dominican nuns if we got out of place.I hold no admosity of those times because it taught us right from wrong. What transpired at St Patricks is a sacrilege. The service should of been stopped,police called and all of gay/transvestites ushered out.I personally think That the priests/Cardinal Dolan’s excuses have no merit at all. I also think Cardinal Dolan should step down because this incident is unbelievable and a black mark for the church .Now what do I have to expect this garbage in my parish! Be interesting to hear Pope Francis’ thought’s!!
“I applaud our priests who made a quick decision that, ‘Uh-oh, with behavior like this, we can’t do a Mass. We’ll do the Liturgy of the Word, which is the readings, and the sermon, and the prayers of petition, and the Our Father, and then we’ll stop it. The Mass is not going to go on,’ ” Cardinal Dolan said. “Bravo for our cathedral people, who knew nothing about this that was coming up.”
Using words like Uh oh, bravo and I applaud do not belong anywhere in this sordid affair. Also, basically, we did a mass of reparations but it really wasn’t necessary. the response should have been “we’re hanging our heads in shame and are immediately revising funeral liturgy policy and procedures to be aligned with the tenets of the Church and its Gospel.
I’ve been to Baptist funerals where a leader got up and said to the effect of, “turn away from sin and preach the Gospel.”
I totally appreciate and agree with your statement
It sounds like they could have used some of those old school Dominican nuns at St. Patrick’s when things got out of control.
🙂
The clergy is becoming a vaudeville show. Dolan tap dances and James Martin prances about the country with the blessing of the master of ceremony. I now fully understand righteous anger.
Give me a break, Cardinal D! Yes, the Catholic Church DOES vet!!! I personally know Catholics who were denied (and rightfully so) being godparents at different baptisms I attended. Your retirement can’t come anytime too soon!
I think we need a good dose of charity. Too many Monday morning quarterbacks here! 😂
Part of Dolan’s excuse – that IS what it is, runs like this – “We don’t do FBI checks on people who want to be buried.”
The more I think of that crack the more pathetic it gets, and the fact that a Cardinal is saying it – fully expecting to be taken seriously in order for any blame for the outrage to be deferred from the staff @ St. Patrick’s – makes it that much worse.
For shame.
So, at St. Patrick Cathedral, you can just call up, say you think the place is pretty and schedule a funeral? At my dinky, nowhere special, suburban parish you cannot even do that. Funerals are for parishioners and arranged by people who know the deceased, with a funeral worksheet that takes time and thought to fill out.
Funerals in Catholic churches spring from a parish family that knows and loves one another. The parish is not a community, rent-a-venue.
Well, that condescending retort earned some Vatican star stickers, but failed to address the harsh reality that the Church has been under relentless siege by anti Christian, even demonic, assailants over the past numerous years.
You would think that the Diocese (or any Catholic Church), with all due love and respect, would at least verify the desire of the deceased to be genuinely eulogized in a Catholic Church, particularly St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Baptized, check; regular attendee, check (with Parish affiliation), in fidelity to the Church teachings (or at least a regular penitent), check, and so forth. A preliminary meeting with the mourners might be helpful, a well to vent the appropriateness of the setting.
Consider, too, that this was one of the dioceses so eager to comply with the harshest government restrictions during COVID. Then, it was ok to “consult” with the FBI regardless under the guise of public safety for months…months! Where was the appeal for the necessity for Communion with Jesus Christ, then, especially Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity and other Sacraments…including a Catholic burial of the dead?
I am shocked by Cardinal Dolan’s response. Many of us life long Catholics are appalled and outraged by the sacrilege at St. Patrick’s. It is the Cardinal’s cathedral and he seems to show no sign of outrage and anger. There is a time for righteous anger which is justified, even required, and this was such a time. Jesus took whips to the money changers when they were defiling His Father’s House.
By his logic of welcoming any one who wants to be buried at the Cathedral – Hitler, Mussolini, even Putin would qualify. I suspect in this case, the Cardinal was bullied and intimidated by the LGBTs and their media allies. Cathedral officials had to know something was up with a ceremony lavishly celebrated by Fr. James Martin when it was scheduled.
It does appear that Fr. Martin, not the cardinal or bishops, is calling the shots in the Archdiocese of N.Y.
Remember a few years back the prince Of the church , Dolan, participated in the New York met gala. Was proud to lend Madonna and her peers vestments. Mitres, chalices. Etc. he had a great time giggling thru it . The sorrow I felt for our Lady after seeing a black rosary over a head cage on display and other blasphemous displays. Yeah I think Dolan knew about this 🤷🏻♀️
No FBI check! How about checking on my daughter when she had written to Cardinal Dolan pleading to join the “Sisters of Life” she felt this was her calling but because she has a physical disability, he did not even have the decency to answer her letter with a yes or no, he avoided it! she has since given up and the only reason why she stays in the catholic church is because of the true presence !
I was not aware one needed to contact the local Bishop in order to join a religious order of nuns. Why did she not just contact them directly??
There is some truth to this. Our wonderful pastor who has served our parish for 25 years recalled a story of when he was a young priest in a rural parish. He said a glowing eulogy for a parishioner’s funeral saying he never missed a mass, went to confession every week, helped with cooking at every big parish event, helped usher, made a point to shake the pastor and deacon’s hand at the end of mass and was a very generous donor. His family came up to him after the mass, and he expected a heart-felt thank you. Instead the oldest son said, “Father, with all due respect that was not my father at all”. He explained that they actually lived in the local city and he would attend the parish way out of town where he grew up. He was a Mexican Mafia member who helped with drug and human trafficking, murdered several people in the course of his life, beat his wife routinely, expelled his children from their house as teens, had many affairs, laundered money, extorted businesses and was a ‘Good Fellow’ to the end. He died of a heart attack not in his family’s house but drinking in a notorious drug bar in the heart of red-light district. Like our President, professing to be a good Catholic does not make one a true follower of Christ.
I left the Novus (Terrae) Ordo Church during Covid. My local spineless priest locked the church and in so doing undermined a relationship I had developed with that church and mass over 55-years. Online, I found profoundly beautiful masses offered by priests in ornate and intricate vestments who remained OPEN, offering confession, last unction, and yes, OUR LORD. I began assisting in an SSPX Latin Mass which is 2.5 hours one-way from my home and will NEVER return again to the current blasphemy pawned off as the “continuation” and “fulfillment” of the Latin Catholic Mass. Friends are beginning to join me. Deo gratias. The last straw for a devout Catholic friend was only last week when he entered a NO “sanctuary” to pray and found a large piece of the Holy Host laying on the floor. No wonder Our Lady of Lasalette mourned with tears streaking down her face that “soon, filthy feet would be trampling on the precious body of my son”. I can’t imagine a context but for the NO mass where that would be as inevitable. Seek out a Latin Mass. Attend. Don’t stop. That is your life boat as the mutinous crew steers straight for the rocky shoreline.
The whole lockdown thing was handled improperly, by the church and civil authorities. Picked winners and losers with little input from the people.
Take this experimental shot, with ties to induced abortions, and all will be well. The leftist administered fear mongering turned neighbor against neighbor, and family members against each other.
From his press conference, it appears that Bishop Dolan has failed to understand that the laity can discern the difference between an explanation, an excuse, and an outright fabrication to CYA a situation.
To me, and most intelligent Catholics, Bishop Dolan’s response to the atrocity at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, is so far-fetched that it is “unbelievable”, even to the most nieve of Catholics.
Firstly, the cathedral is not just an ordinary church, it is a major place of worship and sparks notice when services are held there. To sanction the funeral of an unknown person “claiming” to be Catholic without a basic check on the authenticity of the claim is highly questionable. (At my parish church, if someone who is not a known parishioner requests a service …. wedding, funeral, or even a memorial service, the requesting party is required to substantiate the appropriateness of the request before a service is scheduled.)
Secondly, with the security at St. Patrick’s, how could the priest and others at the Cathedral not recognize that they were being “set-up” for a publicity stunt, and stop the service before it started?
Thirdly, if this was just a Catholic wanting a normal funeral mass, why were there multiple cameras, along with recording personnel, in various positions to record the service for distribution to the media?
Fourthly, why did the priest, a representative of God, not stop the blatant “blasphemy” being spewed from the sanctuary, the church aisles, and the very pulpit? His silence, in reality, “sanctioned” the blasphemy being spoken in the Cathedral.
Instead, he joined in and contributed to the blasphemy by commenting on “her” holiness and entreating God to hasten her arrival in Heaven. (A self-proclaimed atheist, trans-gender person, living in mortal sin, whose followers chose the Cathedral in order to mock God, the Catholic Church, and God’s Moral Law.)
Bishop Dolan, by his press conference, indirectly sanctioned the actions of the priest and cathedral personnel involved and gave a dangerous and inappropriate message to the world: “Blasphemy toward God and His Church is acceptable if done in the name of “POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!”
Nothing happens in St. Patrick’s Cathedral by accident.
With all the in-ad nauseam diatribe here, containing blasphemous wording should I defend my Cardinal Dolan, along with the priests “in sin”? Maybe. it seems the Cardinal should have vetted the family to reveal the “problem”. Is there really a problem, maybe? Will the church survive?
Catholic tenets are to be honored and kept. No one would disagree. My concerns are they offended…
If there was no Mass, why is this funeral a mistake? Was the deceased soul irretrievable? Has to be the Cardinal?
Our approach to retrieve TGs is that they are truly painfully dysphoric. I believe that approach foists violence in a violent political world.
Finally, my view on the LGBTQ “society” that challenges the Church view is the issue of whether they are born with a different gene or they choose a difficult and seemingly impossible lifestyle scorned by the Church and society. The real question is how should we welcome them into the faith? They must not continue to be “our separated brethren”.
I pray for the Lords intervention to heal our hearts and those of the unmentioned families.
Anyone requesting a wedding or funeral at a catholic church and NOT a registered and financially supporting member of the church should absolutely be investigated. It is the times we live in that the church has secular enemies bent on damaging the church snd her teachings. Continuing to operate like oblivious fools is not the answer. And vague concepts like “welcome” and “openness” do not supersede teaching the truth, which is the job of the church. This event gave public scandal and future events like this must be prevented. It’s time for church officials to exercise caution and common sense.
Please do your homework before posting.
1. “If there was no Mass, why is this funeral a mistake?” The Mass was stopped when it became clear what was happening during the service. Offering the Mass would have added grave insult to injury.
2. “The real question is how should we welcome them into the faith? They must not continue to be “our separated brethren.”
Easy. They should be welcomed just like everyone else, after they repent and forsake lives of sin. Openly and unapologetically gay people are not our brothers.
Sadly, the tyranny of “nice” appears to have risen to the most important thing above all in todays society. This includes “nice” being important above reality , common sense and church law. It would appear that a shocking number of high church clerics have become very mushy indeed on church teachings on sexuality. It will not change until a new generation of more conservative priests replace them. By the way, those outside the sexual norm are not to be maltreated, but encouraged to make more valid moral choices. But that does not include church approval of their invalid actions.
It was disgusting to see Cardinal Dolan laughing with the priest that celebrated that scandalous service !!!Not only should he step down but be removed from his lofty position !!!! It is no wonder that sadly so many Catholics have left the faith !! As a 84 year man, i miss the OLD Catholic Church wear the clergy Forcefully enunciated the TEACHINGS of our beloved Church !!!!