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When 9-11 took place, Muslim spokesmen in America and elsewhere (as well as their non-Muslim apologists), assured us that Osama did not represent "real Islam". They told us that Osama's actions made him anti-Islamic and a non-Muslim. If the above is true, then why was Osama given a Muslim burial? America had every right to wrap his body in pig skins, accompanied by strips of bacon and pork chops. How could Muslims have complained, when they assured us that Osama does not represent Islam? In any case, doesn't giving Osama a Muslim funeral increase his chances of going to the...

Video of Osama bin Laden's dead body being dropped into the North Arabian Sea from the USS Carl Vinson early this morning will be made public, according to officials. The 40-minute ceremony, and perhaps photos of his corpse, will be released "cautiously," according to The Associated Press, citing two Pentagon officials.

The Sin of SuicideFR. WILLIAM SAUNDERSWhat is the Church's teaching regarding suicide? I always thought that suicide was a mortal sin, so how is it that a person can be buried in the Church? Before addressing the act of suicide, we must first remember that God is the giver of all life. Each of us has been made in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:27) with both a body and a soul. Therefore, life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death, and no one can justify the intentional taking of an innocent human life. For Christians, this teaching...

Thousands of firefighters in uniform on paid agency time came from different fire agencies all over Southern California to attend Glenn Allen's funeral bringing with them tens of millions of dollars of firefighting equipment, helicopters. Just the cost of fuel alone must have cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, notwithstanding the cost of salaries and accrued benefits of thousands of active duty firefighters. His funeral must have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars thanks to union rules that permit such a waste of taxpayer funds. I personally mean no disrespect to his family, but if it were not...

Sin eaters and the custom of sin eating seem to come from Wales. Early descriptions of the ritual all mention the bread eaten over the corpse, as well as the payment of sixpence to the person assuming the sins of the dead. Below are two 19th century accounts of sin eaters. "In the county of Hereford was an old custom at funerals to hire poor people, who were to take upon them all the sins of the party deceased, and were called sin-eaters. One of them, I remember, lived in a cottage on Ross high-way. The manner was thus: when...

I've received word that Westboro Baptist Church (according to their website) will be picketing the funeral of a decorated veteran in Bordentown, NJ on Saturday, January 22nd. We are seeking volunteers to form a silent wall to block the sight of it so the family can bury their son in peace.

Using God’s name in vain usually brings to mind a person cursing another, asking God to damn someone. The definition of vain as described by Webster is as follows. 1: having no real value: idle, worthless 2: marked by futility or ineffectualness: unsuccessful, useless 3 archaic: foolish, silly4: having or showing undue or excessive pride in one’s appearance or achievements: conceited5: to no end: without success or result 6: in an irreverent or blasphemous manner Westboro Baptist Church portrays the word vain in the purest of forms in its attempt to spew hatred as God’s representative. The world is looking...

Keepin’ it classy: TUCSON (NY Times) -- When President Obama took the stage here Wednesday to address a community — and a nation — traumatized by Saturday’s killings, it invited comparisons to President George W. Bush’s speech to the nation after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,... …Even as it began, some conservative commentators were posting comments criticizing the memorial service for being overly partisan and more like a pep rally, and there were some boos in the hall when Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, spoke. Those reactions would have been hard to imagine, say, in the days after the...

Arizona Moves To Ban Funeral Protests The Arizona Legislature has approved emergency legislation to head off picketing by a Topeka church at the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was killed during Saturday's shooting in Tucson. Unanimous votes by the House and Senate on Tuesday send the bill to Gov. Jan Brewer for her expected signature. The bill prohibiting protests at or near funeral sites would take effect immediately. The Westboro Baptist Church said Monday it plans to picket Thursday's funeral for Christina Taylor Green. She is one of six people who were killed in the shooting that injured...

Funeral pickets to be met by 'angels'By the CNN Wire Staff January 11, 2011 2:25 a.m. EST Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- Tucson just isn't that kind of town, says Christin Gilmer. Gilmer is talking about Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, that has made its name picketing the funerals of people who died of AIDS, gay people, soldiers and even Coretta Scott King. **SNIP** They're planning an "angel action" -- with 8-by-10-foot "angel wings" worn by participants and used to shield mourners from pickets. The actions were created by Coloradan Romaine Patterson, who was shocked to find the Topeka church...

McALLEN — Hidalgo County should ban funeral processions, county District Attorney Rene Guerra said Thursday. A fatal crash during a funeral procession Wednesday has led to questions about the safety of the motorcades, where law enforcement officers guide traffic by blocking intersections. A Hidalgo County Precinct 2 constable’s deputy hit and killed an Alamo woman Wednesday when the deputy’s cruiser “t-boned” the vehicle she was traveling in. Guerra said he’s been concerned about funeral processions for years now, but Wednesday’s crash has revived the debate and sharpened his concerns. “I was afraid that what happened yesterday would happen,” he said....

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, leaving the funeral of a murdered Border Patrol agent Wednesday, scolded a reporter for asking her to address the victim's family's concerns that not enough is being done to secure the southern border. The family of agent Brian Terry had complained that Napolitano had offered them "empty words" when she called to express her condolences. Terry's father, Kent Terry, in an interview with ABC affiliate KGUN, said he told Napolitano to "wake your man up in the White House," to which she replied that he's done more in two years than any president. Napolitano attended...

McALESTER, Okla. — Members of a Kansas church that protests at military funerals may have found themselves in the wrong town over the weekend. Shortly after finishing their protest at the funeral of Army Sgt. Jason James McCluskey of McAlester, a half-dozen protesters from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., headed to their minivan Saturday, only to discover that its front and rear passenger-side tires had been slashed. To make matters worse, as their minivan slowly hobbled away on two flat tires, with a McAlester police car following behind, the protesters were unable to find anyone in town who would...

Sgt. Jason J. McCluskey was laid to rest on Saturday with hundreds of his friends, family members and comrades in attendance. And there were hundreds more standing outside the First Baptist Church in McAlester listening to his memorial service via tall standing loudspeakers. And still there were hundreds more lining the roads and intersections from the church to the cemetery waving American Flags and patriotic signs. And there were yet hundreds more at his graveside services at the Tannehill cemetery. The 26 year old Army paratrooper was killed in action on November 4th in Afghanistan. During his tour of duty...

WESTON, MO. — People in Weston, Missouri banded together on Saturday. They wanted to protect loved ones who were saying goodbye to a fallen soldier and stood up to members of the Westboro Baptist Church who planned to protest at Sgt. First Class C.J. Sadell's funeral. Sadell died October 24 from injuries he suffered in a surprise attack in Afghanistan. On Saturday, there was quite a turnout of people who wanted to keep the protesters away from the funeral. "I'd say probably half the people in Weston are here," said Eric Moser, Marine Corp veteran. Weston has less than 2,000...

WILLMAR, Minn. (AP) -- The body of a Minnesota soldier killed in Afghanistan is coming home. The body of Army Pfc. Ryane Clark is scheduled to arrive at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Willmar Municipal Airport. The West Central Tribune reports a procession escorting Clark's body will leave the airport about 1 p.m. and travel through Willmar and Spicer on its way to his hometown of New London. Clark died last week after his unit was attacked by insurgents. The 22-year-old was based at Fort Bragg, N.C., and had been in Afghanistan since December. His funeral is at 2 p.m. Sunday...

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court justices, in a rare public display of sympathy, strongly suggested Wednesday they would like to rule for a dead Marine's father against fundamentalist church members who picketed his son's funeral - but aren't sure they can. Left unresolved after an hourlong argument that explored the limits of the First Amendment: Does the father's emotional pain trump the protesters' free speech rights? The difficulty of the constitutional issue was palpable in the courtroom as the justices weighed the case of Albert Snyder. His son died in Iraq in 2006, and members of a family-dominated church in Topeka,...

NEW ORLEANS -- An order of Benedictine monks sued Louisiana regulators Thursday for blocking them from selling handmade caskets because the monks are not licensed funeral directors. The monks of the 121-year-old St. Joseph Abbey, in St. Tammany Parish north of New Orleans, charge the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is attempting to maintain a casket cartel, and that board members are mostly engaged in industry they regulate. They claim the regulations are unconstitutional. The monks planned to sell their wooden caskets for $1,500 or $2,000 to support the abbey. They tried to get an exemption from...

Can the government restrict the monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Saint Benedict, La., from building boxes? Yes, says the state, if those boxes are for the deceased. In 2007, the monks at St. Joseph’s Abbey started St. Joseph Woodworks for the purpose of building simple wooden caskets as a means of supporting themselves. Monks in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota have been in the casket-making business for years. Before they were able to sell even a single casket, the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors told them that their sale of caskets violated state law, which says...