To bury the dead is one of the most beautiful human traditions. And so it has been at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City for well more than a century, as Catholics in the Big Apple have used the space for solemn ceremonies remembering loved ones since it opened in the late 1800s.

But on Feb. 15, a group of LGBT activists lied and deceived their way into holding a funeral Mass at the landmark New York City church for Cecilia Gentili, an avowed atheist who was openly transgender and who had supported legalizing prostitution.