Archdiocese of Liverpool commissions twenty-two people as 'Lay Funeral Ministers' -- "Preces meæ non sunt dignæ..."

Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool (at dusk)
(c)  Chowells -- published under a Creative Commons Licence
(source: Wikimedia Commons)

It was revealed in last Friday's Tablet that the Archdiocese of Liverpool has commissioned 22 laypeople as ‘Lay Funeral Ministers’. This measure was apparently taken because the Archdiocese claims there aren’t enough priests in the whole of Liverpool to officiate at every Catholic funeral, meaning that some will soon have to be presided over by laypeople.

Father Simon Henry mentioned these 'Lay Funeral Ministers' on his blog (which I recommend you read) before the story appeared in The Tablet, as it seems that the publication had contacted him last week asking for a comment. Wisely, as he is a priest of the Archdiocese, Fr Henry refused to be drawn into commenting on this situation. But he did link to the relevant diocesan document, called Planning a Catholic Funeral, on his blog -- this pamphlet has recently been sent out to Liverpool parishes. It makes for interesting, if not depressing, reading…

Here are a few passages from the Archdiocese of Liverpool’s pamphlet, which seems to have been written for those wanting a Catholic funeral: –

Just as there are stages in the process of grieving, the Church encourages us to say farewell to our loved ones in three main stages: 

·         The Prayer Vigil, usually the evening before the funeral;
·         The Funeral, which may be a Mass or a Funeral Service;
·         The Committal at the cemetery or crematorium. 

However all these rites are not appropriate in every situation and the parish looking after the funeral will be happy to help you decide on what is best for you and to choose appropriate readings, prayers and music. 

The Prayer Vigil 

The Vigil may be held in the home of the deceased person, in a funeral home or in the church and may be led by a Lay Funeral Minister. The mood of the Vigil is one of quiet support, with readings from scripture and prayers. It may include the Rosary and appropriate poems and songs. 

The Funeral   

This is the community’s main celebration and prayer for the deceased person. This could be a Funeral Mass, but if the majority of the mourners would not be able to participate fully in a Mass, or if no Priest is available, it may be a Funeral Service led by a Lay Funeral Minister or a Deacon.  It cannot be guaranteed that all the deceased’s wishes will be fulfilled, even where a pre‐paid funeral plan has been arranged. 

The family and friends of the deceased can be involved, if they feel able, in a variety of ways: 

·         Placing on the coffin symbols of Christian faith, such as the pall (a large white cloth which   reminds us of Baptism), a crucifix and an open bible.
·         Placing other symbols of the person’s life on a table near the coffin.
·         Reading the scripture passages or the intercessions.
·         Speaking briefly in memory of the deceased person.
·         Bringing up the gifts of bread and wine (if it is a Mass).   

The Funeral usually takes place in the parish church but, if it is not a Mass, it may sometimes be appropriate to hold it in the chapel of the cemetery or crematorium immediately before the Committal…

I was particularly struck by that part of the document relating to ‘The Funeral’, especially the words:  “This is the community’s main celebration and prayer for the deceased person.” As someone well acquainted with the anthropocentric nature of Protestantism, I could not but view this sentence (especially those words that I have highlighted) as something that would fit in well with the ideology of Luther, Calvin or Wesley. Surely, a typical Catholic funeral should have a Requiem Mass at its heart – the sacrifice of Our lord Jesus Christ to God the Father, offered on behalf of the dead soul(s)? 

In the Church, a funeral's main priority is the departed man or woman (or people), as opposed to the 'community' (though the bereaved, of course, receive their own pastoral support). Funerals are occasions when we pray for the one who has died -- who, as someone who would have sinned in his / her life, is in need of God's mercy. In that sense, funerals are not, as they often seem to be in Protestant denominations, 'canonizations' -- unbridled 'celebrations' of the individual's life or 'goodness'. Neither should they be too concerned with the living at the expense of the deceased.

This brings me to the next few sentences in the pamphlet: “[The Funeral] could be a Funeral Mass, but if the majority of the mourners would not be able to participate fully in a Mass, or if no Priest is available, it may be a Funeral Service led by a Lay Funeral Minister or a Deacon. It cannot be guaranteed that all the deceased’s wishes will be fulfilled, even where a pre‐paid funeral plan has been arranged.”

What on earth do these words mean: “…if the majority of the mourners would not be able to participate fully in a Mass…”? If I were to die in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, is there a chance that a Requiem Mass would not be offered for me at my funeral if the majority of the mourners weren’t Catholic or couldn’t receive Communion? As it happens, most of my friends aren’t members of the Church, whilst I am my family's only Catholic. Would this fact mean that, contrary to my wishes as a Catholic, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass might not be offered for my departed soul if I was resident in Liverpool at the time of my 'departure'? Surely, the only person needed to celebrate a Mass is the priest? The validity of the Mass does not depend upon the state of the ‘community’ or the ‘majority of the mourners’!

The attitude of the document seems to suggest to me that within the Archdiocese of Liverpool the main focus of the Church's prayer and support during funerals is aimed at the mourners, not the holy soul(s) who is / are in need of God’s mercy and love. Again, this reminds me of Protestantism – it gets close, in a way, to denying the existence of Purgatory. (Is it any wonder that a religious priest based in the northwest of England once told me that the Church no longer believes in Purgatory?)

When I die, I would like my funeral to consist mainly (or wholly) of a Requiem Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, followed by a traditional committal. ("Bury my body wherever you want ... I only ask of you to remember me at the Lord's altar," as the dying St Monica famously told her son, St Augustine of Hippo). But it seems that were I to keel over and die in Liverpool (as a few members of my family have done – one of my grandfathers died in Broadgreen Hospital, though was at least taken back to Wales for an Anglican funeral, in accordance with his wishes) and had no-one to take care of my affairs, I might end up having my wishes ignored: denied a Mass and buried by a layperson.

Also, what is this about there not being enough priests to celebrate Requiem Masses at funerals in the Archdiocese of Liverpool? I can hardly believe that such a traditionally Catholic city, in which most Catholic churches have several Masses on a Sunday, cannot bury its Christians with the dignity and rites they deserve? Is Liverpool suffering from an outbreak of the plague, or something? Has civil war broken out in Crosby? Has a tsunami hit the Albert Dock? Of course, in times of catastrophe or war, it could be argued that a simple funeral / committal service by a layperson is better than nothing at all – in fact, some dioceses resorted to this extraordinary measure during the Black Death, when nearly half the population of Europe (including many priests) died in the space of about five years. But in 2007, Liverpool claimed to have 281 priests (diocesan and religious) and 103 permanent deacons (see Wikipedia) -- I believe there are now even more deacons. As the Archdiocese only has about 214 parishes, surely there can't be such a crisis, yet?

As a 16-year-old convert, I immediately expressed a desire to become a priest. At the time, I was told that I should wait at least two years, but in the meantime my parish priest organised for me to stay for a week in an inner city Liverpool parish. It was an enjoyable few days, on the whole, and confirmed for me that I wanted to be a priest. Having said that, I soon realised that the religious order running that Liverpool parish wasn’t for me – for its ‘charism’ appeared to involve despising the Pope and adoring Karl Marx! I also found it odd that everyone in the parish seemed to want it to die, or thought that priests weren't a necessary part of the Catholic Church – pessimism and quasi-Protestantism filled the air. Although there were eight priests resident in that church, they all kept going on about how they couldn’t cope, and how the laity would have to take over the running of the parish – yet they only had two Masses a day and at least half the priests were under the age of 35. 

There seemed to be a desire, also apparent in other parishes that I visited in Liverpool, for the priesthood to disappear, so that the pushier members of the laity could take 'their rightful place in the Church' -- as they saw it. Sadly, it seems that this attitude remains strong in some parts of Liverpool, which may explain the dearth of seminarians and new vocations in that once proud Archdiocese?

As I have already mentioned, when humanity is faced with great socio-political or environmental disasters, it is sometimes necessary for laypeople to bury the dead. It is also commendable for members of the laity to offer the Office of the Dead for departed souls, especially during November. We are all called upon to pray for the holy souls, too, seeking their relief and asking God's mercy upon all the dead -- especially those who have no-one to pray for them. But, surely, when a place is not engulfed by famine or pestilence, when there are enough priests available, and when peace, not war, prevails, the Church has a duty to bury her dead with all the rites at her disposal? Given the choice between a Protestant-type prayer service and a Requiem Mass,  most Catholics would desire and expect the latter -- wouldn't they?