Catholic Requiem Mass. Who is it avalible to? and other questions

[colliric]

I attended one of these masses today for a recently deceased Catholic Uncle. it was beautiful, But as an RCIA candidate it raised some questions to me. This was not the first Requiem Mass I have attended and I am wondering who a Catholic Requiem mass service is avalible to because some of the time I have been to these masses have been for baptized Catholics who fell away, and as far as my memory recalls some people who weren’t catholic but had relatives who were.

Is this the prerogative of the priest, because I recall that the one I attended for a non-catholic(Related to A Catholic who organized the funeral for them) was a little different in terms of the prayers. Is it odd, or not?

or is my memory just ****?

Also I noticed something about communion that alarmed me… the priest forgot to get us all to say “Lamb of god you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us”! He openly forgot to do it! It was printed in the program, so I give him the benefit of the doubt and say it wasn’t him rushing things through and deliberately omitting stuff… but he fogot to do it after we finished singing!

 

[colliric]

Oh, I just got my own answer…

(Note: The 1983 Code of Canon Law Can. 1183 §3 strangely allows for baptized heretics to be given a Catholic funeral “provided their own minister is not available” and assuming it isn’t established that they wouldn’t want a Catholic funeral, all at the discretion of the Bishop – but then in Can. 1184 §1 goes to say that “notorious heretics” can’t have a Catholic funeral. As opposed to out and out refusal of a Catholic funeral for those who request their bodies be cremated, Can. 1184 §1 says that Catholic funerals are denied to those “who for anti*christian motives choose that their bodies be cremated.”)

So I guess it is so, some non-catholics can have catholic funerals… I wasn’t dreaming after all.

 

[cameron_lansing]

I would advise perhaps looking at the issue afresh.

The apparent editorial comment in the unsourced quote you found is sufficiently misleading as to be both imprecise and incorrect. The canons should be read as they are written to be properly understood. They should not be truncated in the way that the quote truncates them, interrupted by editorial comment, nor intermingled and confused with each other as the quote has done. The code can be viewed as it stands at vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM .

Can. 1183 §1. When it concerns funerals, catechumens must be counted among the Christian faithful. §2. The local ordinary can permit children whom the parents intended to baptize but who died before baptism to be given ecclesiastical funerals. §3. In the prudent judgment of the local ordinary, ecclesiastical funerals can be granted to baptized persons who are enrolled in a non-Catholic Church or ecclesial community unless their intention is evidently to the contrary and provided that their own minister is not available.

Can. 1184 §1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals: 1º notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics; 2º those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith; 3º 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.

Canon 1183 treats catechumens, deceased children whose parents intended to baptize them, and baptized non Catholics. Under the conditions of that canon, they may receive Catholic funeral.

Canon 1184 applies to those who were baptized Catholic or had become so by a profession of faith and did not give some sign of repentance before death. It does not apply to non Catholics.

Remember only those baptized Catholic or admitted into the Church are directly subject to ecclesiastical law, and only they can commit the offenses of apostasy, heresy or schism according to canon 751. Hence, the terms “notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics”, “persons who had chosen cremation for …”, and “manifest sinners” are not speaking about non Catholics in canon 1184 but to the situations of Catholics. Remember also that notoriety qualifies the first category, a motive qualifies the second, and manifest as well as public scandal qualifies the third.

Under the conditions of that canon, Catholics in those categories who have not given some signs of repentance before death must be deprived of Catholic funeral. But in a doubtful case, the local ordinary’s judgement must be followed.

The term local ordinary includes not only the diocesan bishop, but would include the vicar general and an episcopal vicar. This fact was neglected by the quote you found.

It is the family of a deceased but baptized non Catholic, an unbaptized child or a catechumen who would seek a Catholic funeral. No permission is needed in the case of a catechumen. An unbaptized child is unlikely to have lived in a way that a Catholic funeral would scandalize the faithful. In deciding the suitability of permitting one for those in the remaining category, the local ordinary would likely evaluate a number of things. But the notion of blithely viewing a non Catholic as a “baptized heretic” would not enter into the mix.

The rites of Christian funeral do provide different prayers for people in the categories in canon 1183. Your memory is spot on!

 

[colliric]

I would advise perhaps looking at the issue afresh.

The apparent editorial comment in the unsourced quote you found is sufficiently misleading as to be both imprecise and incorrect. The canons should be read as they are written to be properly understood. They should not be truncated in the way that the quote truncates them, interrupted by editorial comment, nor intermingled and confused with each other as the quote has done. The code can be viewed as it stands at vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM .

Can. 1183 §1. When it concerns funerals, catechumens must be counted among the Christian faithful. §2. The local ordinary can permit children whom the parents intended to baptize but who died before baptism to be given ecclesiastical funerals. §3. In the prudent judgment of the local ordinary, ecclesiastical funerals can be granted to baptized persons who are enrolled in a non-Catholic Church or ecclesial community unless their intention is evidently to the contrary and provided that their own minister is not available.

Can. 1184 §1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals: 1º notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics; 2º those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith; 3º 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.

Canon 1183 treats catechumens, deceased children whose parents intended to baptize them, and baptized non Catholics. Under the conditions of that canon, they may receive Catholic funeral.

Canon 1184 applies to those who were baptized Catholic or had become so by a profession of faith and did not give some sign of repentance before death. It does not apply to non Catholics.

Remember only those baptized Catholic or admitted into the Church are directly subject to ecclesiastical law, and only they can commit the offenses of apostasy, heresy or schism according to canon 751. Hence, the terms “notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics”, “persons who had chosen cremation for …”, and “manifest sinners” are not speaking about non Catholics in canon 1184 but to the situations of Catholics. Remember also that notoriety qualifies the first category, a motive qualifies the second, and manifest as well as public scandal qualifies the third.

Under the conditions of that canon, Catholics in those categories who have not given some signs of repentance before death must be deprived of Catholic funeral. But in a doubtful case, the local ordinary’s judgement must be followed.

The term local ordinary includes not only the diocesan bishop, but would include the vicar general and an episcopal vicar. This fact was neglected by the quote you found.

It is the family of a deceased but baptized non Catholic, an unbaptized child or a catechumen who would seek a Catholic funeral. No permission is needed in the case of a catechumen. An unbaptized child is unlikely to have lived in a way that a Catholic funeral would scandalize the faithful. In deciding the suitability of permitting one for those in the remaining category, the local ordinary would likely evaluate a number of things. But the notion of blithely viewing a non Catholic as a “baptized heretic” would not enter into the mix.

The rites of Christian funeral do provide different prayers for people in the categories in canon 1183. Your memory is spot on!

thank you!

 

[NMJenny]

When my father (who was baptised a Baptist and joined the Congregational church as a young man) was in the hospital during his last year of life, our priest came to see us and offered to give him a Catholic funeral. As it turned out he survived that illness, and when he died about nine months later we took him to the “big city” to bury him beside my mother. But I’ve always appreciated our priest’s kindness at a very difficult time…