https://abc7ny.com/nyc-st-patricks-cathedral-cecilia-gentili-funeral-cecila-cathedral/14441693/MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- On the first Sunday of Lent, there is controversy surrounding a funeral service Thursday at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
This weekend, the cathedral's pastor offered a mass of reparation following the service for Cecilia Gentili, a well-known transgender advocate - a service that church leaders now describe as 'sacrilegious and deceptive.'
Thursday's funeral packed the cathedral with friends and members of a community expressing gratitude for her advocacy.
Some are questioning why a funeral for a trans activist and self-proclaimed atheist be held at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The New York Archdiocese issued a statement saying, in part, '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.'
Gentili's family responded with a statement saying that all are supposed to be welcome,