Catholic conservatism on the rise as priest refuses funeral for 'sinner'

The Times ^ | 7/22/05 | Richard Owen

[Crackingham]

A parish priest has refused to give an Italian woman a Christian funeral because she had “lived in sin”. Father Giuseppe Mazzotta, parish priest at Marcellinara, near Catanzaro in Calabria, said that he had denied a Christian funeral to Maria Francesca Tallarico, who died of breast cancer at the age of 45, because she had lived with her partner but never married him. Her partner was separated and had an 11-year-old daughter.

“She lived with her lover, so she was a public sinner,” Father Mazzotta said. “I decided not to celebrate an official Mass for this woman, who was not in communion with the Church.”

Father Mazzotta said that he had performed the liturgy of absolution for the dead. He added that he was close to the dead woman’s family and had offered them “words of comfort”.

Father Antonio Sciortino, the Editor of Famiglia Cristiana, a popular Catholic magazine, accused Father Mazzotta of “excessive zeal”. Mario Paraboschi, a local councillor, said that he was perplexed. Father Mazzotta said that his action carried a message: “Marriage is a sacrament. We cannot simply pretend.”

The priest’s decision has underlined the growing power of conservative Catholicism in Italy. The liberal and secular Left is increasingly alarmed by the return to “Catholic values” in politics and everyday life, which has clear implications for the general election, due next May.

Yesterday Romano Prodi, the leader of the opposition Centre Left, who hopes to oust the ruling Centre-Right coalition of Silvio Berlusconi, came under fire from the Church and the Right for suggesting that he would follow “the French example” and recognise homosexual “civil unions” if he were returned to power.

Signor Prodi said that he would not go so far as Spain and legalise gay marriage, but Il Giornale, the conservative newspaper owned by the Berlusconi family, said that that was the logical next step.

[balch3]

for the record, I didn't intend my post to come off sounding like Catholic bashing. I know that happens quite a bit here (and vice versa). It was merely a personal observation.

[Conservative til I die]

“She lived with her lover, so she was a public sinner,” Father Mazzotta said.

Everyone, including this priest, is a public sinner.

Not that it matters, since on principle you have a problem with everything the Catholic Church does, but you a) misunderstand what public sin is and b) are missing the rest of the point. Public sin is things like being an out of the closet practicing homosexual who basically advertises their sin unashamedly. Of course everyone is a sinner, but not everyone is a public sinner. I sin, but how many have you witnessed?

Also, the kicker here is the idea of unrepentant sin, not public sin. A woman co-habitating with a man is living in a state of sin. If she's unreprentant than she is living in brazen opposition to Our Lord's teaching. The priest must deny her a Catholic funeral. Just the same as if she were a Rainbow Sash gay activist trying to accept the Eucharist.

Are there many sinners who do wind up receiving the Eucharist or a Catholic funeral? Yes. But it's not as if the priest can discern who has sin on his conscience or not. But a public, unrepentant sinner who advertised their sin proudly? That's pretty obvious. So does he believe she's in hell?

[Conservative til I die]

That is not Catholic teaching what you stated. You are uninformed of what Catholic Teaching is. That is why the Catholics have the Book Malachi added to the Bible.

Actually, Malachi is in both the Protestant and Catholic canon. But, even if we were to pretend it was one of the deuterocanonical books, it would be more accurate to say Catholics have Malachi; Protestants just removed it from their bibles.

[cyborg]

Amen brother.

[Conservative til I die]

The key point is that she was a bad example, and it would be a bad example by the priest to "make light" of a sinner. That makes sense.

But there are a lot of *living* people being bad examples too. What will be done about them?

What's being done or not done about the living has no relevance to this woman's case.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

It is hoped, unless they repent of their actions before they die, that many high-profile "Catholic" (cough-cough) politicians who have taken scandalous positions (Kerry, Kennedy, Pelosi, Mikulski, etc.), will be afforded similar honors as this woman upon their passing. Unfortunately, I am not so pollyanish to assume that the USCCB will have as much chutzpah as this parish priest. 34 posted on 07/22/2005 6:16:40 AM EDT by markomalley

Gee, I don't know, a neo-modernist minimalist folk guitar Godspell funeral "liturgy" celebrated by squeaky-voiced enablers of sodomite rapists seems somehow fitting for the likes of genocidal baby killers like Kerry, Kennedy, Mikulski and Pelosi. Just make sure the sanctuary is decked with a lot of tacky burlap rainbow banners. A special second collection should be passed around for Latin American Communists just to stay on the same theme.

[old and tired]

Gee, I don't know, a neo-modernist minimalist folk guitar Godspell funeral "liturgy" celebrated by squeaky-voiced enablers of sodomite rapists seems somehow fitting for the likes of genocidal baby killers like Kerry, Kennedy, Mikulski and Pelosi. Just make sure the sanctuary is decked with a lot of tacky burlap rainbow banners. A special second collection should be passed around for Latin American Communists just to stay on the same theme.

LOL. You nailed it. The first collection, I suppose, would be for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

[tob2]

I thought that only the sacrament of communion could be denied to sinners, not a Christian burial. As we are all sinners in some way, none of us should have Christian burials.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Oh, the "Campaign for Socialist Development" is just a riot, isn't it? Particularly for all the young families in the parish up to their ears in their own debt who can barely afford tuition for their own children.

The CHD collection should be taken out of the restaurant, clubbing, and South Florida vacation allowance of wayward clergy. Only AFTER that cash cow has been exhausted should the laity ever be asked to pony up for such a phony baloney non-Catholic scam.

[caver]

I got a question for anybody. Is there really a "growing power of conservative Catholicism in Italy."? I'm surprised by that statement.

[tob2]

".....NOBODY knows what might happened in the last moment before a person's death." That is very, very true. There might not have been the possibility of being able to repent, to say they have accepted Christ into their life.

[redgolum]

A former principle at the parochial school in my home town is now a Lutheran missionary in Germany. He says that Europe is so de Christianized that it is almost an open mission field.

Interestingly is that the old East Germany is a bit more Christian.

[markomalley]

I stand corrected.

[redgolum]

Out of curiosity, when is cremation allowed in the Catholic Church?

In my home church (LCMS), unless the person died of an infectious disease, it was pretty much forbidden.

[redgolum]

1 Macc.

Don't have the chapter and verse, but that is where it is. It is in many old Lutheran Bibles, but isn't part of the lexionary.

(LOL! A Lutheran giving a reference to the book of Maccabees!)

[redgolum]

I stand corrected, 2 Macc.

Boy, it has been a bit since I read those two.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Just a brief fact check: Didn't Jackie Kennedy get a posh funeral Mass in St. Ignatius in Manhattan after living with a guy out of wedlock for a number of years before she died? Is the rule in America (or, ahem, New Yawk) that you are allowed one illicit living "in sin" situation? Or did she offer a sincere Confession within the deadline for the Archd of NY?

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

The decision to allow cremation is highly questionable and suspicious. No normal Catholic does this. No one has ever been cremated in my family. Including the Episcopalian side!

[redgolum]

My wife's aunt was cremated and buried in a Catholic service. She was in D.C. at the time, and died of breast cancer. The cremation was so she could be buried in South Dakota and not have her kids pay the transport costs.

I thought that was kind of odd myself. My pastor has at times denied burial to people who have been cremated for wrong reasons, but those cases are few and far between.

[pgkdan]

We were in Florence this year and went to early mass in the duomo. In this great church mass was said at the side alter. There were about 120 people in attendance in a great church that holds thousands. About 1/2 were tourists. There is little church attendance in Europe these days.

How early were you there? Was this a Sunday Mass or daily Mass? My church seats about 900 people and if you came to 6:00 am Mass on a weekday you'd think that our parish was on the verge of failing...25-30 people in attendance. At the 7:00 am Sunday Mass the church is only about half full but if you came to any of the other 3 Sunday Masses and didn't get there 15-20 minutes early you'd be standing in the back or along the wall.