Posted on 03/28/2011 3:56:31 AM PDT by jacknhoo
A commenter raised the issue, citing the former congresswoman’s support for abortion rights, and declared: “Geraldine Ferraro should be denied a Catholic Mass with Catholic sacraments and yes, may God have mercy upon her soul.”
Details about Ferraro’s funeral haven’t yet been released. I presume it will be Catholic. (To those who have asked: no, I don’t think it will be held at my parish. As of Sunday afternoon, no one had contacted the rectory about it.)
But this sort of controversy is not without precedent. Two years ago, when Ted Kennedy’s Catholic funeral (shown above, featuring the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston) caused such an uproar, I posted a link to an article from Zenit on who may or may not have a Catholic funeral:
A funeral Mass can be celebrated for most Catholics, but there are some specific cases in which canon law requires the denial of a funeral Mass.
Canons 1184-1185 say:
“Canon 1184 §1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals: 1/ notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics; 2/ those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith; 3/ other manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.“§2. If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his judgment must be followed.
“Canon 1185. Any funeral Mass must also be denied a person who is excluded from ecclesiastical funerals.”
In fact, these strictures are rarely applied. In part, this is because many sinners do show signs of repentance before death.
The consensus at the time was that it was appropriate for Ted Kennedy to have a Catholic funeral. Canon lawyer Ed Peters weighed in on the topic, too — and agreed that the Kennedy funeral was canonically acceptable.
Only God knows what is in her heart.
I agree. Its a bit too self righteous for me to judge the unknown.
Well, yeah. That's kind of the general deal with forgiveness: it's open to anyone (even the worst of us) if we repent.
However, mouthing the phonemes that produce the sounds "I'm sorry," isn't the same as heart-felt repentence. If you've spent a lifetime in careless or deliberate evil, it's extremely unlikely, unless you are granted the grace by God, that at the very end of it, you're going to be particularly sorry. You're probably more likely to be self-congratulatory, and to deny that you've done anything wrong. Still, there's hope: As Samuel Johnson once said, the knowledge that one is to be hanged tomorrow clears the mind wonderfully.
And if Hitler does wind up "walking the streets of glory," it won't be because God was taken in by a piece of deathbed verbal sophistry that even we can see through, but because the man was genuinely sorry for what he had done (at least as far as he was able to understand it). If I'm counting on grace for myself, I'm sure not going to be in a hurry to deny it to others.
Of course, we are supposed to, and are called to, judge. I do not buy the “judge not” lie of the leftists.
Ferraro spent a lifetime advocating and supporting in every way, killing of defenseless innocent little children.
You, especially you, do NOT need to speak with me. I spent far too much time in the accompaniment of persons like yourself. I'll never make that same mistake again.
You believe differently?
But do you know if she received the Anointing of the Sick, (the last rites) went to Confession and so was basically a deathbed re-coversion?
We don’t know. Only her priest and God knows. We cannot judge.
No, NO, NO, and NO.
It’s not about money.
It’s about whether the person repented before they died and received the Last Sacraments.
**she will not like what she has reaped for hers years of sowing.**
Purgatory (if that is where is soul is) is not a pleasant place either.
And we all know about hell.
Neither the Catholic Church nor God supports abortion.
In fact the Catholic Church has been the leader in standing against abortion.
As to what they say and do — how do you know if Ferraro had a final Confession and receive the Anointing of the Sick?
Or are you now a god-judge?
You, especially you, do NOT need to speak with me. I spent far too much time in the accompaniment of persons like yourself. I’ll never make that same mistake again.
Thank you God. You have not provided me a thing. In fact, you are the biggest complainer on Free Republic. You can judge all you want and when you finally kick the can trust me I will judge your worthless butt......when is that day anyway???? Soon????
Tell me Salvation, what is your view on this “judgment:”
Lesbian ‘Catholic’ Priestess Denied Catholic Funeral Rites
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2010/may/10052008
Excerpt ( And 100% appropriate “judgement”):
Archbishop Raymond Burke, head of the Vatican's Apostolic Signatura, the highest ecclesial court of appeal, defended Catholics opposing the Kennedy funeral by re-affirming that “neither Holy Communion nor funeral rites should be administered to” politicians who support abortion or same-sex “marriage.”
“To deny these is not a judgment of the soul, but a recognition of the scandal and its effects,” he said.
“In fact, you are the biggest complainer on Free Republic.”
So, you bear false witness, too.
Satan—‘Father of Lies’—at Work When Critics of Scandal are Ridiculed, Says Vatican’s American Chief Justice
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/father-lies-work-when-critics-scandal-an
I believe that is conventional and also orthodox Christian belief.
Amen.
LLS
You understand, I hope, that I am not arguing that this has happened, only that it is possible--and that possibility has to be held open for anybody capable of repenting, even (maybe especially) desperately evil monsters who need to stop being desperately evil monsters.
When you read this political testament of Hitler signed one day prior to committing suicide one doesn’t see any contrition.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/My_Political_Testament
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