Shepard’s parents requested that their son’s ashes be interred at the cathedral after 20 years of reluctance. They feared his gravesite would be desecrated.
Shepard’s funeral in 1998 was met with noisy protests by anti-gay militants. The decision to seek his interment at Washington National Cathedral came as a result of the Shepards’ friendship with Bishop Robinson. Robinson contacted the cathedral dean, the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, and Washington’s Episcopal bishop, Budde, both of whom readily agreed to the placement of Shepard’s ashes in the cathedral crypt.
Bishop Gene Robinson who is the first openly gay Episcopal bishop and a family friend of the Shepards played an integral role in helping them secure a final resting place for their son.
"Judy Shepard called me and said, ‘you know, we’re coming up on the 20th anniversary of Matt’s death, and we’ve never buried his ashes,’ " Robinson told NPR’s Scott Simon on Weekend Edition. “And she said, ‘We’re thinking it’s time.’ Someone said perhaps the National Cathedral would be a good and appropriate place.”
Even though this image is substantially true, facts matter. Memes are not journalism.
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/26/659835903/watch-matthew-shepard-laid-to-rest-at-national-cathedral
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/20/659122600/matthew-shepard-laid-to-rest-20-years-after-his-death
Thank you for the facts and context. Too many intelligent people believe a picture with a heading is the full story.
Reported to mods. Please make sure to do the same. Posting images of text should result in a temp ban.