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Sarah Pearson, deputy director of Nates Mission, lights candles near the survivors' memorial outside of the public funeral honoring Archbishop Rembert Weakland's life Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Milwaukee. Archbishop Rembert Weakland died at age 95. (Ebony Cox/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

Four priests make their way into the public funeral honoring Archbishop Rembert Weakland's life Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Milwaukee. Weakland died at age 95. (Ebony Cox/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

FILE - In this Aug, 28, 2002, file photo shows retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wis. Archbishop Weakland, a liberal voice in the American Catholic Church, who left the position amid the church's global crisis involving sexual abuse of minors, has died at age 95, the archdiocese said Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Dale Guldan, Pool, File)

MILWAUKEE — Hundreds of supporters, as well as advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse, attended retired Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland’s funeral, which was marked by an open acknowledgement of his mistakes.

Weakland, who died Aug. 22 at age 95, was a liberal voice in the Roman Catholic church and led the Milwaukee Archdiocese for 25 years before stepping down after a theology student said he had been paid $450,000 in 1997 to settle a sexual assault claim against Weakland.

Weakland maintained the contact was consensual, but he also admitted in 2008 that he had shredded copies of sex abuse documents and moved sexually abusive priests from parish to parish without warning churchgoers.

The Rev. Steven Avella, who presided over Tuesday's funeral, recognized Weakland's past.

“Hanging over this particular funeral are the memories of his mistakes, which were there for everyone to see. Some were personal to him, others shared by his fellow bishops and priests. We are grateful for the time he spent with us," Avella said. “Many of us loved him, and some did not."

Avella said leadership comes with the burden of accountability. “For us here in Milwaukee, these things still need to work themselves out. Grief and anger have no timetable. Neither do forgiveness and reconciliation.”

Weakland's supporters told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel they were praying for forgiveness and mercy. Some remembered him as a priest who built bridges and helped the outcast. As Milwaukee's archbishop, he championed an expanded role for women in the church. Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse said Weakland, a Benedictine monk, did not deserve a public funeral because he helped cover up abuse.

John Pilmaier, an advocate for survivors, said Weakland should be remembered for “the harm he caused.”

“This is really a day of shame for the archbishop and the archdiocese,” he said.

SmartAsset ranked Madison fifth in dog friendly cities, based largely on the fact that it has the most pet stores and vet officers per 10,000 establishments. It also has 4.1 dog parks for every 100,000 residents and plenty of dog-friendly shops.

Genevieve Faucher kisses her son, Atlas, 5, who was diagnosed with Pompe disease, a rare disorder, at the age of four months, at their home in Oshkosh, Wis., Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. Wisconsin has approved adding Pompe to its newborn screening program but hasn't started testing for the condition yet. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

A group of friends sing and play following the Eid Al-Fitr prayer held at Olin Park in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 13, 2021. Eid Al-Fitr is a Muslim religious holiday that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Jase Frost-Ohlsen, 12, uses a rope swing he made with his brother to dangle over the Yahara River in Madison, Wis., Monday, May 3, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Artist Angele Nyberg assembles elements of her environmental art installation, “To Hold You,” at James Madison Park in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. The piece was commissioned through the Madison Arts Commission’s BLINK program and will offer visitors to the opening the opportunity to weave reclaimed, naturally dyed strips of fabric into the upright hammock wall. An interactive work, the assemblage tilts back slightly, allowing participants to lean into the weaving while gazing along the shores of Lake Mendota. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Peyton Hein, left, a senior at Waunakee High School, and Jacky Duarte, a senior at Sun Prairie High School, watch Sun Prairie's season-opening spring football game against Verona from a parking lot outside the new Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field in Sun Prairie, Wis., Friday, March 26, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Visitors to Olbrich Botanical Gardens’ GLEAM nighttime art exhibit explore “Tesseract,” a light and sound installation by Madison, Wis. artists Brett Adams and Bo Raasch Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. The annual event features large scale light installations created by local, regional, and international designers displayed throughout the gardens’ 16 acres. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

As hot, humid weather settles into the region, Ilona Steigerzat, 14, generates their own breeze during a swing at Yahara Place Park Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Members of DanzTrad, including Yuriza Leonperalta, at right, perform traditional Mexican dance during the Shifting Gears Bike Path Dance Festival at Olin Park in Madison, Wis., Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Storybook Ballet founder Meredith Mast makes adjustments to the form and posture of the ballerinas during class in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Two-year-old triplets, from left, Aiya, Blaire and Charlotte Cahoon, from Madison, feast on strawberries as their mom, Autumn, grandma, Julie Stough, of Seattle, at left, and sister, Grace, 4, fill the basket with their pickings during a visit to Carandale Fruit Farm in Oregon, Wis., Wednesday, June 16, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Francesca Hong kisses her son George Morris goodbye on his first day of kindergarten at Lapham Elementary School in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Jen Korz, executive director at Heartland Farm Sanctuary, tries to get the attention of Maxwell, a Yorkshire pig, on the farm in Verona, Wis., Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Brothers Tom and Mike Duerst harvest corn on their farm off of Schaller Road in Verona, Wis., Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The United States Department of Agriculture reports harvest of corn for grain across the state is 61 percent complete, which is 10 days ahead of the 5-year average. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Kari Oates, right, and her husband Donald walk through what was the entryway of their home before an F-3 tornado swept through Boscobel, Wis., Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Amber Dolphin reads a book to her daughters, Ivy Moechnig, 1, and Maya Moechnig, 5 (not pictured), in the children’s section of the newly reopened Pinney Library in Madison, Wis., Monday, May 24, 2021. Madison’s libraries reopened Monday after being closed to in-person visits for 15 months. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Members of UW-Madison’s Class of 2021 revel in the chance to do one last “jump around” during the 2021 Spring Commencement at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. Saturday, May 8, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Jill Uhe attends a Memorial Day service with her children, Brianna, 8, and Benny, 11, at right, at the Wells - Davis - Young - Neal American Legion Post 209 Memorial Park in Orfordville, Wis., Monday, May 31, 2021. Many residents of the small village remembered Cpl. Benjamin Neal, a 21-year-old Orfordville resident who died in Afghanistan in 2012 when he was 21. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Madison firefighter Bree Bower, left, shows Sienna Tadych, 8, of Madison, how to work a fire hose for CampHERO, a partnership between Madison Area Technical College and Wisconsin Badgerland Girl Scouts to give girls in kindergarten through high school hands-on experience in protective services at the college's Protective Services Building in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 30, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Nurse Teeney Beidel, center, puts on personal protective equipment to assist a team of nurses rotating a patient on a ventilator at the Aspirus Medford Hospital in Medford, Wis., Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Numbered swatches of fabric, each representing a death from COVID-19 in the state, hang as part of a memorial display at Trinity Methodist Church in Madison, Wis. Thursday, March 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Friends of three senior high school students killed in a vehicle crash grieve at the site along Mineral Point Road in Veronal, Wis., Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The students, Simon Bilessi, 17, Evan Kratochwill, 18, and Jack Miller, 17, were killed when their vehicle was struck from behind by a motorist who is facing charges of multiple counts of homicide in the incident. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

UW-Madison sophomore and Army ROTC cadet Sydney Bobolz plants an American flag on the lawn of Bascom Hill as part of a Veterans Day program held by the Wisconsin Union and University Veteran Services in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Oregon and Sun Prairie line up to sing the national anthem under a rainbow at the Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field in Sun Prairie, Wis., Thursday, May 6, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Confetti falls from the ceiling as Wisconsin players celebrate after defeating Nebraska to clinch share of the Big Ten volleyball title at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Nov. 26, 2021.AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Fans of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrate during the fourth quarter in the “Deer District” outside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., Tuesday, July 20, 2021. The team earned a 105-98 win over the Phoenix Suns to win their first NBA Championship title since 1971. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Milwaukee Bucks Grand Dancer Juju Gramms hands out "Fear the Deer" towels to fans gathered at the Deer District in Milwaukee, Wis., Wednesday, July 14, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Waunakee’s Sarah Bova, left, and Chloe Larsen, right cross the finish line of the girls 400 meter dash as the event’s winner, Brooklyn Sandvig of Chippewa Falls falls to a first place finish in the event during the WIAA Division 1 state track and field championships at UW-La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., Saturday, June 26, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Lions running back D'Andre Swift (32) jumps over Packers cornerback Kevin King (20) during the second half at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Wisconsin Badgers running back Jalen Berger (8) is brought down by Eastern Michigan Eagles defensive back T.J. Peavy (8) and Eastern Michigan Eagles defensive back Mark Lee Jr. (17) during the first quarter at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Wisconsin forward Maddi Wheeler (28) celebrates her goal with teammate defenseman Grace Bowlby (13) and defenseman Mayson Toft (14), at left, in the second period of a women's hockey game against St. Cloud St. at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wis., Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

New Glarus-Monticello's Darris Schuett (13) is tackled by Belleville's J Jay Wenger (3) and Tyler Fahey (5) during the first half of a game between the teams at New Glarus High School in New Glarus, Wis. Friday, May 7, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

DeForest's Jocelyn Pickhardt hugs teammate, Alexys Scheuerell, front, after crossing the finish line and qualifying for state in the girls 800 meter relay during the WIAA Division 1 track and field sectional at Mansfield Stadium in Madison, Wis., Thursday, June 17, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Waunakee’s Max Brud celebrates with his coach, Betsy Zadra, after holing a 98-yard shot for an eagle on the 13th hole of the WIAA Division 1 state golf championship in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Tuesday, June 15, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Snow and frost hold to the branches of trees along University Bay Drive on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

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Sarah Pearson, deputy director of Nates Mission, lights candles near the survivors' memorial outside of the public funeral honoring Archbishop Rembert Weakland's life Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Milwaukee. Archbishop Rembert Weakland died at age 95. (Ebony Cox/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

Four priests make their way into the public funeral honoring Archbishop Rembert Weakland's life Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Milwaukee. Weakland died at age 95. (Ebony Cox/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

FILE - In this Aug, 28, 2002, file photo shows retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wis. Archbishop Weakland, a liberal voice in the American Catholic Church, who left the position amid the church's global crisis involving sexual abuse of minors, has died at age 95, the archdiocese said Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Dale Guldan, Pool, File)

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