ASK FATHER: Irreverent priest at a funeral Mass.

From an upset reader…

QUAERITUR:

I went to a funeral Mass and the priest was not reverent of the person who passed. He rapped his knuckles on the coffin numerous times. He paraphrased the readings and the consecration. He reprimanded a lady who knelt for receiving Communion. and afterwards brushed his hands instead of washing his hands. These are a few of the things I caught.

Does this Mass count? I couldn’t follow the Mass and it felt more like an entertainment show than a Mass. And yes, the tabernacle was on the side in its own little room so it wouldn’t compete with the star of the show…the priest. Does this Mass count? Should I write a letter to the priest? I can’t write to the Cardinal since its ___. I doubt he will do anything.

First, how terrible.   This should never happen.

Does this Mass “count”?  I’m not sure what you are asking.  It could be that you mean was it “valid”.  If there were so many abuses that it wasn’t a Mass (unlikely) then, no it didn’t “count”.  If there was an invalid consecration for some reason (unlikely) them no, it didn’t “count”.

However, even if that Mass was valid, what you describe is inexcusable.

And, yes, you can still write to your bishop (whom you say is a Cardinal).   It is often better to work up the chain, as it were: first, priest, then bishop, then the Vatican.  However, it may be that, for some reason, you can’t write to that priest.

Should write to anyone, keep copies of correspondence.  If you write to the bishop/Cardinal, send a copy of the letter also to the Apostolic Nuncio and to the Congregation for Divine Worship.

Of course it is hard to prove what you observed and a single letter can’t be decisive.  However, it may be that this is not an isolated incident and that that priest has a file filled with this sort of thing.

Before writing, see my

The above link, by the way, is always on the blog.  You can find it quickly at the very bottom in a list of links or do a CTRL+F with the search word “tips”.

Finally, pray for that priest.  Determine some act of reparation for his irreverence and offense and then carry it out, asking God to forgive him and to help him amend his ways.

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