The point, and welcome to it
Jun. 15th, 2002 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebratqueenAs you can imagine, a native New Yorker like m'self is somewhat interested in the Gotti funeral thing, so I'm reading about it on CNN. I come across this paragraph:
The funeral service was not a Mass of Christian Burial, as the family had hoped. Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Daily, head of the Diocese of Brooklyn, ruled that Gotti was not entitled to a funeral Mass.
At issue was a church precept called "scandal" -- the idea that the wrong message would be sent to the church faithful by granting a funeral Mass to someone who lived outside church teachings.
Hello? HELLO??? Excuse me? FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS THE POINT OF CHURCH TEACHINGS! Oh my God. Have these pepole even met the religion they claim to be a part of?
Then there's more:
The denial is not a judgment on the deceased's lifestyle, since the church believes only God can make that determination.
Except for the part where they just did by not allowing the Catholic funeral. Look - I'm all on board for the fact that mobsters, especially a Don like Gotti are total bastards who deserve to face up to their sins, but the part where this is not the Church's call to make is the part where this is not the Church's call to make. Perform the funeral and let God handle it. He's God, He can take it from here, trust me.
The final kicker:
Daily did allow Gotti's burial in the Catholic cemetery, where a who's who of 20th century Mafiosi are buried.
Hypocracy much?
The funeral service was not a Mass of Christian Burial, as the family had hoped. Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Daily, head of the Diocese of Brooklyn, ruled that Gotti was not entitled to a funeral Mass.
At issue was a church precept called "scandal" -- the idea that the wrong message would be sent to the church faithful by granting a funeral Mass to someone who lived outside church teachings.
Hello? HELLO??? Excuse me? FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS THE POINT OF CHURCH TEACHINGS! Oh my God. Have these pepole even met the religion they claim to be a part of?
Then there's more:
The denial is not a judgment on the deceased's lifestyle, since the church believes only God can make that determination.
Except for the part where they just did by not allowing the Catholic funeral. Look - I'm all on board for the fact that mobsters, especially a Don like Gotti are total bastards who deserve to face up to their sins, but the part where this is not the Church's call to make is the part where this is not the Church's call to make. Perform the funeral and let God handle it. He's God, He can take it from here, trust me.
The final kicker:
Daily did allow Gotti's burial in the Catholic cemetery, where a who's who of 20th century Mafiosi are buried.
Hypocracy much?
