Timothy Cardinal Dolan says "irreverence, disrespect" at transgender activist Cecilia Gentili's funeral was "very sad"

NEW YORK — Timothy Cardinal Dolan spoke out Tuesday about a controversial funeral held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Hundreds of people attended a service for transgender activist Cecilia Gentili last Thursday.

Many Catholics expressed outrage and objected to some of the language used during eulogies. In response, the Archdiocese of New York issued a statement on Saturday calling the behavior “scandalous.”

Tuesday, on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel, Dolan said, “Once the funeral started is where the trouble started because of the irreverence and the disrespect of the big crowd that was there. That was very, very sad. And, again, I applaud our priests who made a quick decision that, uh oh, with behavior like this, we can’t do a mass.”

Gentili’s family released a statement Sunday calling the service “a reflection of the love [Gentili] had for her community and a testament to the impact of her tireless advocacy.”