Having Mass said for a non Catholic

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Calliope said:
I’m a pagan. I often write the names of people on the candles I burn on my altar, people who I am commending to their deity. Even so, there are people who would prefer me not to include them in my prayers because of a difference in our beliefs.

I think people will be all over the map with this one.
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I pray for people every day too. I think the difference is that when people offer up a Mass, it is public prayer where names are (usually) invoked, and (usually) unbeknownst to the person or loved ones being named. Additionally, the parish bulletin is often posted online, with said names printed for all the world to see.

We live in a HIPAA world and privacy concerns are paramount. To publicly recite names in a communal gathering AND online, when permission is not granted, well, it is usurping the person’s privacy and integrity.

Private prayer is one thing. Public announcements are another.
 
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ComplineSanFran said:
Additionally, the parish bulletin is often posted online, with said names printed for all the world to see.
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Once again…all you need to do is request “Special Intention” or use a pseudonym.
People on CAF who do not know me had Masses said for my husband under the name “Mr. D. Bear”.
God knows who it is.
Or, like I said, send the intention off to a remote country like India where it will be said in front of a bunch of people who don’t know you, don’t speak English, and don’t publish bulletins.
Or send it to an order for a Mass Enrollment. They will send any acknowledgement just to yourself and not to the family, and the name is never published anywhere that anyone could see it.

To be honest, some parishes have their Mass books fill up so quickly that many, many intentions can’t even be said there, much less printed in the Bulletin, and the intentions are sent off to the Missions anyway.

Have you ever actually had Masses said for people?
 
I work with HIPAA and privacy law daily.

In the USA, the context of such law is extremely limited and a prayer petition is highly unlikely to fit into any of the existing laws. Keeping a name private is more a matter of etiquette, not law.

The laws are different in Europe, but since I am not requesting Masses there I don’t worry about what they might do.
 
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