No Catholic Burial for Richard III

First Things ^ | 8/6/13 | Mark Movsesian

[marshmallow]

Readers of First Things probably know this already, but here’s a follow up on a story from earlier this year. In February, archaeologists confirmed that they had discovered the remains of King Richard III beneath a parking lot in Leicester. Richard died in battle at Bosworth Field in August 1485; the Tudor victors gave him a rather unceremonious burial in what was then a local abbey. Richard will now be re-interred in Leicester’s Anglican cathedral, most likely next May. Back in February, some Catholics objected that Richard, who was Catholic, should by rights be buried in a Catholic ceremony in a Catholic sanctuary. According to the Law and Religion UK blog, however, the Catholic Church in the UK will not insist. The Catholic Bishop of Nottingham states:

The Bishop is pleased that the body of King Richard III has been found under the site of Greyfriars Church in Leicester, in which it was buried following the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, and that it will be reinterred with dignity in the city where he has lain for over five hundred years......

[Rio]

Will the Mormons baptize him?

[SkyDancer]

I’m thinking they should have a proxy person who’ll at one time baptize all the dead. Then it’d be over.

[Rashputin]

Very strange. There was no Anglcan Church when he died? Why should he be buried anywhere other than a Catholic cemetary given the fact that he known to have been Catholic?

[knarf]

Ecumenicalism has screwed up a whole BUNCH'a thought processes.

If the guy's Catholic ... he should be in a Catholic cemetery.

How did the state enter into the negotiations and why is the Bishop so acquiescent ?

[The Unknown Republican]

They probably already have.

[mountainlion]

Will the Mormons baptize him?

I think they can baptize many times.

[AnalogReigns]

Richard III was a member of the Church of England, which happened to be allied with Rome at his death, and later, broke with Rome.

It’s perfectly fit and proper, and legal, that her majesty’s government and the Church of England inter his remains as they see fit.

[The Unknown Republican]

Exactly. If his momma call him Clay, Imma call him Clay.

[Shadow44]

Because the CoE claims to go as far back as the Christianization of England, not simply when Henry VIII broke away from Rome.

I think it’s a dubious argument, but that’s what I’ve seen presented so far.

[Boogieman]

Well, it is Richard III. He’s not exactly a hill to die on when it comes to claiming monarchs.

[Beowulf9]

Good point.

Trying to get on the Queen’s side? Money?

[Rashputin]

He’s not exactly a hill to die on when it comes to claiming monarchs.

Good point.

[JCBreckenridge]

Grrr. This aggravates me tremendously.

[JCBreckenridge]

They haven’t finished their sacrilege.

[forgotten man]

Will there be a wake at the local pub?

[JCBreckenridge]

It’s a lie. It’s a lie that attacks the historical truth that Henry V and all the plantagenets were Catholic.

Apparently some would rather believe that Mary brought her Catholicism from Spain.

[trisham]

"When his brother Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named Lord Protector of the realm for Edward's son and successor, the 12-year-old King Edward V. As the young king travelled to London from Ludlow, Richard met and escorted him to lodgings in the Tower of London where Edward V's brother Richard joined him shortly afterwards. Arrangements were made for Edward's coronation on 22 June 1483, but before the young king could be crowned, his father's marriage to his mother Elizabeth Woodville was declared invalid, making their children illegitimate and ineligible for the throne. On 25 June, an assembly of lords and commoners endorsed the claims.
The following day, Richard III began his reign, and he was crowned on 6 July 1483. The young princes were not seen in public after August, and a number of accusations circulated that the boys had been murdered on Richard's orders, giving rise to the legend of the Princes in the Tower."
Source: Wikipedia

*****************************

Ah, well.

[InvisibleChurch]

Does it matter if he’s in a Catholic cemetary?

[knarf]

I thought it did ... to Catholics.