Non-Catholic spouse's status at Catholic funeral

[novatrix]

How does the Catholic church view a non-Catholic spouse at a Catholic funeral? Actually, that may be putting the cart before the horse: In a situation where a Catholic has divorced but not annulled their previous marriage, are they allowed to have a funeral in the church they attend? And if yes, how does the church consider the status of the former and current wives?

 

[Filioque]

The information supplied is not sufficient. Divorce itself does not incur excommunication, nor does it dissolve a sacramental marriage.

The information required to answer this question includes…

Were both persons married

Was it a Civil or Religious Marriage

Was the Marriage preformed in the Catholic Church

Did the Catholic spouse attempt to marry someone else

If the marriage was a valid marriage between two baptized persons, then the Church would hold that they are still bound to each other until one dies. If the marriage was for some reason not a Sacramental Marriage, and only a Marriage under Natural Law, then a Divorce would dissolve the bond. Since there may be other issues involved consulting with a priest at the local parish who can investigate the case fully would probably be the best place to find the answer, as there may be issues that you would not want to discuss in a public forum.

 

[puzzleannie]

How does the Catholic church view a non-Catholic spouse at a Catholic funeral? Actually, that may be putting the cart before the horse: In a situation where a Catholic has divorced but not annulled their previous marriage, are they allowed to have a funeral in the church they attend? And if yes, how does the church consider the status of the former and current wives?

whether or not the Catholic is “allowed” to have a funeral in a Catholic church depends on his pastor, who presumably knows if he was reconciled with the Church before he died, if he in some way had left the Church. Usually unless the pastor has proof positive that the deceased would not want a Catholic funeral and died unreconciled he would allow the funeral if that is the family’s request. The next of kin are the ones who make the funeral plans. The Church does not investigate marriage validity issues during funeral planning, those issues are dealt with while people are still alive by the marriage tribunal of the diocese–not through the gossip and second guessing of the deceased’s fellow parishioners. The marriage situation is by no means clear in OP, but no ordinarily an ex wife is not the one making funeral arrangements. The parish secretary will deal with whoever comes in to arrange the funeral, not going looking for other family members. Unless the pastor tells her otherwise, she will make the usual arrangements.

 

[Filioque]

puzzleannie:

Thanks, I took the question from a completly different direction.

 

[novatrix]

My apologies. To clarify: One spouse (husband) is Catholic and was married in a Catholic church to another Catholic. They divorced, but have not sought an anullment. The first wife has not remarried, but is in a relationship with another man. The other spouse/second wife is Protestant (baptized), married a Protestant (who may or may not be baptized), and were married by an Evangelical minister in a private ceremony, and then divorced. The Catholic and the Protestant married in a private ceremony, not in a church.

 

[Filioque]

Did, or does the Catholic partner from the first marriage want to die a Catholic. Are/were they willing to, had they initiated a way to try and reconcile, live a celebate life until the time their marriage situation could be sorted out?

It’s all hard to say without all the evidence, and that a Marriage Tribunal with people fully trained to know what questions to ask would remedy.

This is of course given that the party is still living.

 

[Seatuck]

This Catholic should have a meeting with his pastor. There are quite a few issues. He is not in good standing with the church. Perhaps he can do something about it before he dies . He may want to go to confession . Hopefully he is not receiving communion under these circumstances. In any event lots to discuss.

Chances are that if the catholic does pass away and the family approaches the church there wouldn’t be much questioning into marriages and such. The funeral would just happen unless the pastor is familiar with the man and aware of pastoral difficulties that really cannot be gotten into here.

The church would consider the first wife to be the valid wife. The second wife would be recognized as a civil wife and treated with respect and given assistance with the planning etc as Puzzleannie said.

 

[novatrix]

Thank you for the insight. Yes, the man knows that he is not in good standing. His pastor is very familiar with him and his situation, and it is an ongoing process, not being taken lightly. Because of his standing, he does not partake of communion. His former wife does, even though her situation is well known. The question arose because of the ages of the people involved, and a recent funeral where the first wife (who initiated the divorce) sat with the former in-laws, causing the current wife to sit behind the family. The in-laws and current wife chose to not cause a scene. While of course in all situations the Pastor’s advice is what should be sought, but out of consideration for all involved, I thought some information based on what others may have experienced would be helpful in approaching the situation.

 

[Filioque]

As to what the relationship is between the first wife and the other man, we don’t know, and it is really a situation that she should (if she has not already) take up with her confessor, or the pastor of her parish. She may (we don’t know) be very much in love with this other man, but have remained chaste. While we don’t know, some people will put their soul first, and not give into their passions.

The truth be told, none of us need to expose another’s sins if they do not pose a direct threat to those of us here.

 

[novatrix]

The first wife’s situation is publicly known, and not speculation. The only purpose in including that information was in assuming that the church has a set way of dealing with these situations, and that this might have some bearing on the acceptance of the second wife. I must admit to having thought that the husband would not be eligible for a Catholic funeral; the things that I have heard during Catholic funerals could not be said if the deceased is not reconciled with his church. Puzzleannie’s response is reassuring.

 

[bpbasilphx]

The surviving spouse of a Catholic decedent has no particular liturgical duty or place, so this is really a non-question.

 

[Seatuck]

The first wife’s situation is publicly known, and not speculation. The only purpose in including that information was in assuming that the church has a set way of dealing with these situations, and that this might have some bearing on the acceptance of the second wife. I must admit to having thought that the husband would not be eligible for a Catholic funeral; the things that I have heard during Catholic funerals could not be said if the deceased is not reconciled with his church. Puzzleannie’s response is reassuring.

No this was not some church rule that allowed the divorced wife to sit with the family and the new wife to sit behind. This was people doing what people do in these situations and it isn’t the time to correct them . I have never seen such a thing before. Without knowing some of the particulars in the case it is impossible to figure out the dynamics of relationships and also what had occurred between these people .

 

[puzzleannie]

No this was not some church rule that allowed the divorced wife to sit with the family and the new wife to sit behind. This was people doing what people do in these situations and it isn’t the time to correct them . I have never seen such a thing before. Without knowing some of the particulars in the case it is impossible to figure out the dynamics of relationships and also what had occurred between these people .

there is no church rule about who sits where at any funeral, that is simply local custom. Generally here it is the funeral home people who run the show. But if some relative chooses to make a scene nobody will be able to stop her except someone in the family who has influence over her. That has nothing to do with what “the church teaches” but how people behave.

 

[EasterJoy]

The first wife’s situation is publicly known, and not speculation. The only purpose in including that information was in assuming that the church has a set way of dealing with these situations, and that this might have some bearing on the acceptance of the second wife. I must admit to having thought that the husband would not be eligible for a Catholic funeral; the things that I have heard during Catholic funerals could not be said if the deceased is not reconciled with his church. Puzzleannie’s response is reassuring.

Also, the disposition of the body in general will respect the laws of the state, so that the wife legally recognized by the state is going to be the one who makes decisions about how the funeral is run and so on. I cannot imagine that a pastor is going to jump in for no reason on a non-Catholic wife who is seeing to it that the deceased gets a Catholic funeral.

In other words, once the poor man is dead, who has the authority to decide what to do with the body is a legal question of applicable civil law, not a canon law question.

The Archdiocese of Portland has funeral policies on its web site. Maybe the diocese in question does, too. The truth is, if not in violation of the wife’s wishes, the Catholic husband could probably have a Catholic funeral for his non-Catholic wife! Certainly, then, she could be the one to arrange a Catholic funeral for her husband, who has a right to it, as long as he is not excommunicated. Again, we are not talking about husband/wife in the eyes of the Church, but husband/wife with regards to having the legal right in civil law to arrange the funeral.

Here is a pertinent quote:

Topic 3: Who may have a Catholic funeral liturgy?
Summary: Canons 1176 §1; 1183 §1, 2, and 3:
There is a fundamental right for Christians to have a Christian burial. Therefore, according to the norms of law, deceased members of the faithful must be given ecclesiastical funerals. In doing so, the Church seeks spiritual support for the deceased as it honors their bodies and offers hope to the living.

With regard to funeral rites, catechumens, or those intending to receive baptism, are counted among the members of the faithful and given the prerogative to have an ecclesiastical funeral.

Similarly, children who have died prior to receiving baptism, but whose parents intended baptism, may have an ecclesiastical funeral with the permission of the local ordinary.

Baptized persons enrolled in non-Catholic Churches or ecclesial communities may also be granted ecclesiastical funerals with the following conditions having been met so as to respect the wishes of the deceased and to avoid any appearance of proselytizing:

1. the local ordinary, with the use of prudent judgment, gives such permission;
2. an ecclesiastical funeral would not be contrary to the intent of the deceased person;
3. the proper minister of the deceased is unavailable.

In the Archdiocese of Portland, pastors and parochial vicars have the faculty to “allow Church funeral rites for an unbaptized child whose parents had intended to have the child baptized” and “for baptized members of non-Catholic ecclesial communities if requested by the family and provided this is not clearly contrary to the wishes of the deceased.”
Funeral rites may be celebrated in an adapted form for non-Christian members of a Catholic household (cf., OCF #398.36 and Part III, chapter 15).
Archdiocese of Portland:
• A priest/minister may not refuse funeral rites for a Catholic without the permission of the local Ordinary.
• The current Code of Canon Law does not prohibit an ecclesiastical funeral for someone who commits suicide. The OCF makes provision for a person who dies by suicide (cf., “Prayers for the Dead” OCF #398.44). For the purpose of arranging a funeral, a victim of suicide should be treated in the same manner as someone who dies of an untreated or incurable illness.