Holding the line
There’s nothing new in a minister-naffs-off-mourners story, nor yet a Catholic-priest-bans-eulogy story. Some minsters are insensitive to the needs of their congregations, some insist on theological orthodoxy, some use a funeral as a conversion opportunity, some like to remind non-churchgoers that they will burn for all eternity in the fires of hell. Some clergy do […]
The stalemate of funeral choice
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Cherishing freedom of speech we often quote the line, ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it’. So democrats proselytise in order to influence others, and sometimes those influenced leave one tribe and join another. A far cry from relativism, the message […]
Masses banned at the crem
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Priests have been instructed to stop saying Mass for the dead at crematoriums. They’ve been sent a letter by their bishops saying the order is not rejecting crematoriums but aims to bring people back into churches. Priests will be able to say a short prayer at a crematorium, similar to a […]
Is ceremony dying?
Posted by Richard Rawlinson This seems a strange question just after economically-challenged Britain has hosted the Olympics, a no-expenses-spared ceremonial games that unites nations in celebration of sporting prowess. But as the cult of individuality nibbles away at established social conventions, more and more people seem to be caring less for ceremony on a more intimate […]
Requiem mass for Philpott children
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Before they were arrested and charged with the murder of their six children in a petrol-fuelled arson fire in their Derby council house last month, Mick and Mary Philpott started planning a funeral at the Anglican Derby Cathedral. With the tragedy making headline news, they chose this local landmark, rightly predicting a lot of […]
The status of marriages and funerals
Posted by Richard Rawlinson I recently had a conversation with a priest about the topic du jour: same-sex civil partnerships–which offer legal equality–becoming known as marriages, so gaining semantic equality by reinterpreting a term traditionally reserved for the union between a man and woman as they become husband and wife. For some reason, the discussion […]
From God we come and to Him we return
A thought for the day from Richard Rawlinson The trend for funerals conducted as celebrations of life must surely stem from society’s weakened belief in life after death. Even Christians now opt for the panegyric of the dead through tributes to the deceased instead of a ceremony combining natural grief for the loss and hope […]
Publishing event of the year!
The Natural Death Handbook, Fifth Edition A thoroughly updated and revised edition of the Natural Death Centre‘s celebrated handbook. Now presented alongside a new collection of essays on death, dying and funeral practices by doctors, historians, authors, poets, theologians and artists including Richard Barnett, David Jay Brown, Dr Sheila Cassidy, Charles Cowling, Bill Drummond, Stephen Grasso, […]
Fair dos for Henry Scott Holland
Posted by our religious correspondent Richard Rawlinson In this initial blog, Fr Tim Finnigan explains his irritation with this famous reflection on death by the Anglican Canon Henry Scott-Holland (1847-1918): “Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as […]
Though rain berated the street
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny carries the coffin of his mother Eithne from the Church of the Holy Rosary in Castlebar yesterday, assisted by his brothers John and Henry and his nephew, Henry Jnr. THEY came in their thousands to pay respect to her loved ones, and though rain berated the street outside all morning long, […]
