Rehnquist funeral: Lutheran funeral OK in Catholic church?

[Digitonomy]

Chief Justice Rehnquist’s funeral service was held at St Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington. The explanation was that this was for logistical reasons.

I find this odd, and not quite right. Can any non-Catholic funeral be held at a Catholic church? Must it be Christian? What about other non-Catholic religious ceremonies?

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Digitonomy:

Chief Justice Rehnquist’s funeral service was held at St Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington. The explanation was that this was for logistical reasons.

I find this odd, and not quite right. Can any non-Catholic funeral be held at a Catholic church? Must it be Christian? What about other non-Catholic religious ceremonies?

A Protestant Community can be allowed to use a Catholic Church with the Bishops permission. The Blessed Sacrament is usually removed from the main church for this. In this case I would guess that being a landmark church it probably has the Blessed Sacrament in a separate chapel anyway.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I am not familiar with the Lutheran funeral service, but I assume it does not include a Lutheran Communion. Thus it is simply a prayer service where the validity of orders is not a consideration.

I wonder if the bishop could permit a non-Catholic group to have a communion service in a Catholic Church.

As an aside: The local Jewish Community was permitted to use a nearby Catholic Church for their High Holy Days services - because of the need for more room than their facilities had. The particular Church has a reputation for being a bit loose in its liturgies. A little old Catholic lady wandered in and was heard to comment on the way out: “*That was weird even for this Church.” *

 

[rwoehmke]

Our church was recently used for the funeral of a non-Catholic member of our community. The man was a locally well known and popular figure and no other church was large enough to hold the crowd of mourners. Our eucharist is reserved for perpetual adoration in a side chapel but I don’t think that was a particular consideration. It is common practice in many hospitals to have a chapel open to the use of all faiths. I have attended mass while a patient in several of them. I don’t think it is at all unusual anymore for a non-Catholic group to use a Catholic facility particularly when their facility is wiped out be fire or some other disaster. Its all part of that Ecumenical spirit.

 

[axolotl]

My parish has been around for 150 years, but the current structure was built in 1968. The old church is still standing, and a PCA congragation rents it out for their Sunday services.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Lutheran funerals resemble the Liturgy of the Word. There is even a homily in the Missouri Synod that does not concentrate on the deceased, but on quietly in the pew making sure one has made one’s peace with God through Jesus. Communion can be, but seldom is, involved.

I think St. Matthew’s is being used for size considerations.

I have to laugh, though. When my brother-in-law died 15 years ago, my then-pre-teen kids had just finished reading Lake Wobegone. We went into the post-funeral luncheon prepared by the Lutheran ladies, and as my son surveyed the buffet line, he said loud enough for all to hear, “Lutherans really do eat a lot of jello!”

 

[Kielbasi]

Different Christian communities have always cooperated when they need to borrow each other’s facilities. It really ain’t “scandalous”, and I’ll take the word of the rector of St. Matthew’s and the Washington cardinal that it was an appropriate gesture.

Here in Pittsburgh, example given, the Episcopal Church in Avalon is lending/renting their facility to a group of schismatic Catholics who don’t have their own building. In another case, the congregation of Ebenezer Baptist is temporarily using the church building of an SDA congregation after their church burned.