A Catholic funeral could be denied to LGBT people if providing the service would cause unavoidable “public scandal of the faithful”, a leaked email written to priests within the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin has suggested.
The confidential directive from vicar general Fr. James Bartylla, "Consideration of Funeral Rites for a Person in a Homosexual Civil or Notorious Union", was sent to priests as part of a weekly email. It was made public by a progressive Minnesota religious blog called Pray Tell on 22 October.
The letter advises priests that if they encounter a situation in which a person in a homosexual civil union or in “an otherwise notorious homosexual relationship gravely contrary to the natural law” dies, and the family want a Catholic funeral, to “think through the issue thoroughly.”
"The main issue centres around scandal and confusion (leading others into the occasion of sin or confusing or weakening people regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church in regards to sacred doctrine and the natural law)," explains the email.
“The pastoral task is to minimise the risk of scandal and confusion to others amidst the solicitude for the deceased and family," it continues.
Several of the suggestions that follow concern the surviving partner, who should "not have any public or prominent role" at a funeral rite or service or be mentioned in any liturgical booklet or homily, the document says.
The name of a celebrating priest or parish should not be listed in any public obituary that also lists the predeceased or surviving partner. "This can't happen for obvious reasons," the document adds.
It adds that “it may be wise” to keep the number of priests involved in the funeral service to a minimum.
The “attitude” of the deceased’s family members, especially toward the Church, and whether the deceased person showed “some signs of repentance before death,” were also cited as prominent considerations.
The guidance also suggested priests consider whether it might minimise potential harm to people’s faith if the priest provided only “a short scripture service at the funeral home” or “merely a graveside service” with or without explicit mention of the name of the deceased or ‘partner.’ ”
Finally, if a priest goes through the considerations and still can’t decide what to do, Fr Bartylla writes that the Diocesan Bishop, Robert Morlino, should be consulted and then “his judgment is to be followed.”
In an official statement from Madison Diocese on 24 October, the diocese said Fr Bartylla’s message was “not an official diocesan policy.” But the statement added that it did “conform with the mind of the bishop [Morlino] and meet his approval.”
“No policy could adequately cover every case,” the statement said, noting for public funerals in general, “pastors are charged with addressing the particular situations of their people - whom they … know well and whom they have accompanied, even until their death.”
The diocesan statement said the email was issued in the first place to answer questions raised by priests in the diocese “and was to serve as a tool to provide some framework and considerations, in this confidential setting.”
The statement also strongly criticised Fr Bartylla’s message being made public saying that it was “lamentable” that some have “wilfully and flippantly spread gossip, rumour and sadly, even calumny,” without first seeking clarification from the diocese.
In an email exchange later reported by the Wisconsin State Journal diocese, diocese spokesman Brent King also stressed the advisory nature of the vicar general’s message
“The only word used in Saturday’s email was ‘consideration’ or ‘considerations,’” King said.
“There were no directives, bans, or even real guidelines … other than what is written in canon law. If there was any directive, it was, ‘Think through the issue thoroughly and prudently,’” he added.
In June, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, issued a decree that barred people in same-sex marriages from a Christian burial.
“Unless they have given a sign of repentance before death, deceased persons who had lived openly in a same-sex marriage giving public scandal to the faithful are to be deprived of ecclesiastical funeral rites.”
At the time, he was the only US bishop to have publicly taken this stand.
To comment on this story, go to The Tablet's Facebook Page
Loading ...
