Posted on 09/06/2005 3:15:11 PM PDT by Coleus
Edited on 09/06/2005 3:27:08 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Wednesday's funeral for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a Protestant, will be in Washington's Roman Catholic cathedral -- an unusual but not forbidden occurrence under church rules.
The Catholic directory on interfaith matters says churches are "generally reserved for Catholic worship" but local bishops may permit worship by other Christians who lack a place "for celebrating worthily their religious ceremonies."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
No nailing of Theses on the front door please.
But, darn it, it's become a force of habit for us Lutherans.:)
I'm protestant but I wouldn't be upset at having my funeral at a Catholic Chrurch. I need all the help I can get, especially at that point in my life. ;)
This doesn't answer the question of why they didn't use the National Cathedral, another large, fairly centrally located house of worship that is Protestant.
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
That was bad. For your penance, you must say 10 Hail Mary's - not.
I think it implied he was Lutheran
The family is a member of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Bethesda, Maryland.
http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/justices/rehnquist.html
ELCA Lutheran.
Would somebody check with St. Peter and see if the same rules apply to heaven? I'm protestant, but don't want to take any chances. . .
"No nailing of Theses on the front door please."
Indeed
LOL.
Who knows? Maybe someone in attendance will find something beautiful within the service. You never know where that might lead. It wouldn't be the first time I have heard of someone converting. Especially the poor Episcopalians. I sure have met a few who have given their church up in total disgust.
Why not the National Cathedral?
The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle honors the patron saint of civil servants. The Cathedral plays a major role in the Catholic life of the nation's capital. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Washington.
Pope John II celebrated Mass here on October 6, 1979. President John F. Kennedy's funeral Mass was said on November 25, 1963. Requiems have been held here for several heads of state. The "Red Mass," celebrated annually in the fall, requests guidance from the Holy Spirit for the conduct of the legal profession. It is attended by Supreme Court justices and members of Congress, the Cabinet, diplomatic corps, and other government departments, sometimes including the President of the United States.
Established in 1840, St. Matthew's originally was located at 15th and H Streets, N.W. Construction of the present church began in 1893 under the direction of Monsignor Thomas Sim Lee. The first Mass was celebrated on June 2, 1895. The church was dedicated in 1913 and designated a cathedral in 1939 when the Archdiocese of Washington was established. The Cathedral is one of the most impressive houses of worship in the United States. Designed by noted New York architect C. Grant La Farge, the Cathedral has been cited "as [having] one of the most beautiful church interiors of modern times." Its walls are laden with shimmering mosaics suggestive of those found in the renowned churches of Ravenna, Italy. The Cathedral is in the form of a Latin cross 155 feet long and 136 feet wide at the transepts. The interior of the dome rises 190 feet. The body of the Cathedral seats about 1,000 persons.
Website for the church: http://elcbeth.org/
It is impossible to tell from the website text that it is ELCA, but one can discern that the congregation is from the open communion statement. Anyone can commune there if that individual communes at his own church. Hmmm. Metropolitan Community Church? UCC? Roman Catholic?
If we cannot believe the same thing, then let us disbelief the same thing.
I happen to think that Benedict XVI likes McCarrick and respects him. I'd bet he serves as long as he likes, even up to the age 80, as Bevilacqua did in Philadelphia.
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