Funerals for Criminals and Abusers, Andrew Hamilton, Eureka Street, May 27, 2010

Funerals for Criminals and Abusers

By Andrew Hamilton
Eureka Street
May 27, 2010

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=21530

In the last month Catholic funerals have led to controversy. Many Catholics complained that Carl Williams was allowed burial in a Catholic Church. And some victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church expressed anger that bishops and priests in robes glorified the funeral of a priest who had been charged with sexual abuse of minors, but who died before the case could be brought.

These negative responses to different funerals may reflect a changing understanding of funerals in the Catholic Church, aligning it more closely to the approach of the broader society.

A generation or so ago, Catholic funerals emphasised very strongly the relationship of the dead with God and their salvation in heaven. People prayed that God would forgive their sins and receive them into everlasting life. The funeral liturgy consoled the family by encouraging their hope that the dead person was with God, and by allowing them to experience the solidarity of friends united with them in prayer. The virtues and the human foibles of the dead person may have been mentioned, but not emphasised.

Central to Catholic funerals, too, was the reality of God's judgment. It was not taken for granted that all the dead went to heaven. Furthermore, those who were repentant, but whose lives were sinful, faced a painful spell in purgatory.

Catholic funerals continue to include prayer for the dead, whose relationship to God and life after death remain central. But the mourners pray less that they be forgiven their sins and enjoy eternal life. That is taken for granted. The celebrations focus more on remembering their life, thanking God for the quality of their lives, and consoling the living by recalling the dead person's life. These are important and good things to do.

These changes make Catholic funerals more like non-religious funerals. They also focus on the life of the dead, so reassuring those who grieve them. The central part of funerals is usually the eulogy by friends and family. Eulogies have become more numerous, representing the dead person from as many angles as possible. It is not uncommon for video and audio tapes of the dead person to be played, reminding and committing to memory.

The focus on the life of the dead person makes funerals of notorious malefactors problematic. When all involved in the funeral see themselves as sinners, brought together to pray for God's mercy upon another sinner, it will seem natural that public sinners should have a church funeral which is widely attended.

But if funerals are seen only to commemorate the life of the dead, to praise their virtues, and to commend them to shared memory, those who attend may be seen to endorse the quality of the dead person's life. They come, not just to bury the dead, but to praise them. If the funeral evokes the virtues of a scoundrel whose life was publicly scandalous, those who take part may seem to be complicit in a lie. Church officers who celebrate the funeral or make the church building available may also be seen as reprehensible.

From this perspective it can be even more problematic for bishops and priests to robe for the funeral of a priest charged with sexual abuse. They may already be seen as complicit in praising those whose lives have been scandalous. But in addition, bishops and priests can then be seen as officers of the company whose lax governance allowed the abusive priest to thrive. So if they attend in the regalia of their office, they may be seen to make a public statement that the company looks after its own, and that solidarity with officers of the company matters more than the suffering of those who have been abused within it.

These reflections on Catholic funerals suggest the need for conversation about funerals that addresses two different audiences, a Catholic and a public one. Within the Catholic Church it is important to communicate effectively the Christian understanding of death. Death is not the end, but a point of transition in the continuing relationship with God. Furthermore we die as sinners whom God loves and accepts as companions through Christ's death. These convictions form the canopy under which our affectionate remembering of the dead person's life and our consoling of one another are properly enacted.

From this viewpoint it is inconceivable to deny anyone burial within a Christian church on the grounds of unworthiness. Those who seek to do so confer an undeserved worthiness on themselves, and underestimate God's love for each human being irrespective of their actions.

Christian funerals, however, are also public events that are read in a public language. Christians need to reflect on how funerals for people who are known to have abused their office in the Church will be seen by those without faith, as well as by believers.

Within the Christian community splendid ceremonies with processions of robed bishops and priests may heighten the sense that the dead person is precious in God's eyes and may evoke God's mercy. But those whom a dead priest has abused and the wider society are as likely to see in the celebration an enactment of power and defiance.

In such funerals it may be better to draw on the resources of Catholic liturgy that allow people to gather to seek forgiveness, express grief and pray for conversion. Plain dress, an unornamented church, honest prayers and periods of silence can express respect for the dead person and our shared need of God's mercy. A one-style liturgy does not fit all circumstances.