Editor’s note: Allison Hope is a writer whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Slate and elsewhere. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Read more reviews on CNN.
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The day after Valentine’s Day, a massive and fabulous funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York in honor of the late, great Cecila Gentili. It was a service filled with love and tears of laughter and sadness, without forgetting a performance by actor and singer Billy Porter (the two had been comrades in the groundbreaking television series “Pose”). St. Patrick’s Cathedral is perhaps the most famous Catholic church outside of the Vatican. Gentili’s friends chose him for her funeral for this reason — her friend who planned the funeral said that because Gentili was “magical for our community…that’s why I chose a location as iconic as St. Patrick’s.”
“Except for Easter Sunday, we don’t have such a large crowd,” the priest proclaimed, as hundreds of gay men gathered to mourn the loss of a leader, a sister, a A transgender and self-described woman who rose from a hostile country, sexual slavery and poverty to become an activist, an actress and a source of inspiration for the many vulnerable people she serves. is beaten every moment of her life.
But the Very Reverend Enrique Salvo, pastor of St. Patrick’s, did not mince his words in a statement he left the New York Archdiocese office a few days later.
“Thank you to everyone who let us know that they shared our outrage at the outrageous behavior at the funeral here at St. Patrick’s Cathedral earlier this week,” the statement read. “The cathedral only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral mass for a Catholic and did not know that our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive manner. That such a scandal has occurred in the “American parish church” only makes matters worse; That this took place at the start of Lent, the annual forty-day struggle against the forces of sin and darkness, is a powerful reminder of how much we need prayer, reparation, repentance, grace and of mercy to which this holy period invites us. .”
We cannot be sure what precisely Salvo meant by issuing this statement, but his remarks are condescending and judgmental; Using the word “scandal” around expressions of mourning and celebration at a trans person’s funeral lacks compassion and humanity. There is nothing Christian about it.
The statement cites the start of Lent as an aggravating factor in the horror felt towards the event. This could refer to the colorful expression of queer people on display at funerals. Or maybe it refers has some spoken words in eulogies meant to honor the late trans icon when she uses the terms “sacrilegious” and “deceptive.” “Saint Cecilia. Mother of All Whores,” Liaam Winslet, trans rights advocate. said in Spanish during the funeralFor example.
Gentili was not shy about sharing that she had been a sex worker, and many knew of her work to decriminalize women’s bodies and ensure legal protections for sex workers. And while many Christian churches (not just Catholic) would probably not accept everything that was said and done at the service for Gentili, Mary Magdalene’s irony is not lost either. Historically, the Church has had no problem talking about whores. Is it just trans whores they can’t recognize?
Perhaps the worst part of all this is that the archdiocesan office announced in Salvo’s statement that St. Patrick’s would hold a so-called “Mass of Reparation” — a Mass intended to atone for, atone for, or make reparation for sin — under the direction of Cardinal Timothy Dolan. As if a funeral with LGBTQ people needs repair or restoration.
I have my own Lenten message to the leaders of the Archdiocese of New York and those members of the Catholic Church who see nothing wrong with their statement of condemnation: In this holy season, let go of your judgment and hatred.
How small of you to judge the extent to which mourners choose to honor their deceased loved one. How low of you to drive the dagger deeper into an already wounded community, a community filled with vulnerable people. How hurtful of you to use Lent as a weak excuse to point fingers when the greatest sins have been well documented since inside your walls.
Jesus would have washed their feet, without chasing them away or boasting about the need for a mass of reparation. He would have recognized the honest and incredibly difficult life lived by Gentili and his friends who came to honor him. How she dedicated her life to serving others, living the mission the Church preaches, perhaps more honorably and authentically than many who pass judgment. Those who live in glass and tax-free houses should not cast stones.
Some may say that hate is too strong a word here. Yet Merriam-Webster defines hatred as “intense hostility and dislike usually arising from fear, anger, or a feeling of hurt.” Certainly, hatred is present in Salvo’s words. statement, and it is also present in the history of how the Catholic Church has treated members of my community.
This is the same Church that turned its back on gay men during the AIDS crisis and following in whose footsteps demonstrations took place. The same church that marked the start of New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, which for years banned LGBTQ groups from marching. The same church that welcomes members who believe LGBTQ people don’t need to exist or can be “cured” with abusive conversion therapy techniques.
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The Archdiocese of New York revealed its true colors with this statement, and with it, the persistence of anti-LGBTQ judgment within the Catholic Church. This institution can no longer hide behind the smoke and mirrors of “love the sinner, hate the sin,” or the motto of Pope Francis. largely symbolic gesture allow same-sex couples receive blessings. This has caused so much damage to LGBTQ people for so long, and at the very least, in Salvo’s statement, this hatred is open to all.
The only comfort I have right now is knowing that Gentili is probably looking down and laughing right now. I can only imagine she would have been pleased to know she had ruffled a few feathers.
