Catholic Burial Ex Catholic

[marlo]

Guys,

Here’s the Scenario, When a person who is formerly Catholic who was baptized and was able to receive communion then later on in his life converted to a Protestant Church which has No valid sacrament then died.

His family gave him a Catholic Burial, in which the local Parish church didn’t know that the person converted to other religion. My question is, If the local Parish know that the person is ex-catholic, would the person be blessed by the priest, also, did the family made the right thing on giving the person a catholic burial, is there a canon violation?

thanks
marlo

 

[gelsbern]

There used to be a need for a formal act of defection from the Catholic Church in order to be considered an Ex-Catholic.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actus_formalis_defectionis_ab_Ecclesia_catholica

However in 2010 it no longer became possible to defect from the Catholic Church, even with a formal declaration of such.

communio.stblogs.org/Omnium%20in%20mentem%20trans%20Haverstock.pdf (PDF File)

With that being said, the person while attending the protestant church may have been subject to the automatic spiritual penalty of excommunication.

However, one can repent until the moment of death and the person may have quite possibly done that. He may have spoken it to his family or priest, or just simply asked for forgiveness in his last breath.

Since a funeral is not a sacrament, I think that it is better they err on the side of giving the man a catholic burial, then turning him away. Also, I can imagine the harm that would come from rejecting the family’s request. It is very possible that if they were denied the catholic burial that it would have caused more defection from the Church.

 

[jesuspsr]

I had the same situation awhile ago. My parents friends became JW many years ago, and when his wife died, she got a Catholic burial. Our family and many of our friends were happy to see that she got a catholic burial. The priest did a good job in addressing both catholics and JW. Once agian, I don’t know what my point is but there it is.

God bless

jesus g

 

[dans0622]

I think it is best to assume that everything was done properly in this case, although it is certainly wrong to not tell the parish priest about the ecclesial status of the deceased.

That being said, there is a canon that needs to be considered: "Canon 1184 §1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals: 1. notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics; 2. those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith; 3. other manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.

§2. If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his judgment must be followed."

This canon should have been consulted and observed. Perhaps it was.

Dan

 

[Jim_Roberts]

Guys,

Here’s the Scenario, When a person who is formerly Catholic who was baptized and was able to receive communion then later on in his life converted to a Protestant Church which has No valid sacrament then died.

His family gave him a Catholic Burial, in which the local Parish church didn’t know that the person converted to other religion. My question is, If the local Parish know that the person is ex-catholic, would the person be blessed by the priest, also, did the family made the right thing on giving the person a catholic burial, is there a canon violation?

thanks
marlo

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God’s mercy is so powerful that I believe we should leave this message in God’s hand;
if he’s non-Catholic, he will be judged as a Catholic or regular judgment. Let’s not criticize him, but give him the doubt and God will know what to do.

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Jesus I Trust in You