Who Was Denied Burial in Consecrated Grounds and Why

Though the Catholic Church has changed it's stance on many issues, in the past the Church had complete power and the people were basically at their mercy. Catholic burials were denied to many groups of people.

Only baptized persons who have a claim to Christian burial and the rites of the Catholic church could obtain a Catholic burial. This obviously excluded unbaptized babies.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia: “Moreover no strict claim can be allowed in the case of those persons who have not lived in communion with the Church according to the maxim which comes down from the time of Pope Leo the Great (448) “quibus viventibus non communicavimus mortuis communicare non possumus” (we cannot hold communion in death with those who in life were not in communion with us). It has further been recognized as a principle that the last rites of the Church constitute a mark of respect which is not to be shown to those who in their lives have proved themselves unworthy of it.”

Others who have historically and are today excluded from Catholic burial include pagans, Jews, infidels, heretics (and their adherents), schismatics, apostates and excommunicated persons. In fact, if an excommunicated person is buried in a church or in consecrated land, the place is thereby desecrated, and, wherever possible, the remains must be exhumed and buried elsewhere.

People who are of mixed marriages cannot be buried in a Catholic Cemetery unless the marriage is blessed by a priest. Therefore the Catholic spouse would have to be buried in a non-denominational cemetery if they wished to be buried next to their non-Catholic spouse.

Further, Catholic burial is to be refused to suicides except in case that the act was committed when they were of unsound mind or unless they showed signs of repentance before death occurred.

Criminals cannot be given a Catholic burial since they have mortal sin on their souls.

Perhaps one of the most difficult to justify is the denial of Catholic burial for the mentally ill (referred to as lunatics and possibly possessed by a devil). Given the fact that as many as one in four people suffer from some kind of mental illness, this could constitute a huge number.


 

The Joyful Irish View of the Afterlife

An excerpt from a page created by M. Seaver. Last revised 3/28/00.

The world of the Irish afterlife is known by many names. The exact location of this wonderful land is not known. The one thing agreed upon by most is that it lies to the west of Ireland. Some of the names associated with it are:

• Tir na n-Og
• The Land of the Young
• Hy-Brasil
• the Isle of the Blest

Beyond all dreams my land delights,
Fairer than any eyes have seen,
All year round, the fruits hang bright,
As the flowers bloom in the meadows green.
Wild honey drips from the forest trees,
We have endless stocks of meadow and wine,
No illness comes from Across the seas,
Nor death, nor pain, nor sad decline.
No boredom comes to feast or chase,
The music plays as the champions sport,
The light and splendours all increase
Each day in the Golden Land of Youth. (qtd. in Delaney 87)

Everything in this land was beautiful, bright and colorful. Delaney notes that it is called the Land of the Young because in this paradise, the aging process is reversed, so the youngest are the wisest. Time has no meaning in this place, and day changes to night and then back to day for one person whenever they desired it to do so. Everyone's soul desired to get to this wonderful place, which was more like a dream world than a land for the dead (85-95). The land was full of color, it was a lively land, bright and cheerful. It was as large or as small of a land as they wanted.

Works Cited



Cerf, Bennet and Donald S. Klopfer. Bulfinch's Mythology. New York: Random House, 1960.
Delaney, Frank. Legends of the Celts. New York: Sterling, 1992.
Fitzgerald, Dominic. "Celtic Mythology." August 1998. Online. 21 Oct. 1999 < http://freespace.virgin.net/dominic.fitzgerald/celtic.>
Severy, Merle. "The Celts." National Geographic 151 no. 5 (May 1997): 582-633.

History and Thought of Western Man
Rich East High School * Park Forest, IL 60466

National Suicide Prevention Week - September 4-10, 2011

Join us in changing the legacy of those lost to suicide this week during National Suicide Prevention Week.

It gives us all an opportunity to say a prayer or  simply think positive thoughts about those who may have lost that battle.

Acknowledge those who were denied a burial in consecrated grounds like the many who were buried in Bog Meadows.

Suicide is preventable and we can all play a role in raising that awareness.

Irish National Register of Cillini and National Marker for these Sites

IRELAND NEEDS TO LEAD THE WAY!

Toni Maguire, the Milltown Archaeologist has just received a new survey of the Bog Meadows in Belfast. It was done with ground penetrating radar. Initially she estimated that there were 30,000 bodies buried there but the new survey has shown more mass graves.

Furthermore she believes a 3rd survey is in order on grounds where a motorway now stands. This is a huge issue as Ireland has thousands of Cillini sites all throughout the country.

We hope to achieve the right to a decent burial for stillbirths throughout the world, an Irish national register of Cillini and a national marker for these sites.

New Legislation Desperately Needed on Cillini

Following is an update on the cillini in Ireland, in particular, the Bog Meadows project. Parents and relatives are currently ignored by the Catholic Church and are unrepresented by society in general.

These sites are fragile and as history has demonstrated, easily destroyed as they usually remain unmarked in the landscape; the location is often remembered only by those who actually buried those babies in Cillini and the grieving parents of the babies.  

In the case of Milltown (as with other Catholic cemeteries across Ireland) those who were not baptised were considered to be unworthy of remembrance and assigned to an unmarked shallow grave in unconsecrated grounds, or mass Poor Ground graves, many times with hundreds of babies in one grave.

One of the main issues to be contended with is the fact that Catholic Cemeteries are private burial grounds, and as such are outside the legal legislation governing the management of council cemeteries.  This effectively allows the church complete autonomy to act as they wish without any regulation. We need new legislation that addresses all the issues surrounding burial practices. 

Project Update

Hello Ms. Maguire:

 

Thank you for  your post and for your interest in our project.

 

Of course, we are quite familiar with your name and your wonderful work, having done research on Irish Cilliní.

 

As you can see from our blog, our original goal was to produce a documentary on the subject, but then got word that the BBC was doing just that (a bit larger than our operation, as you might well imagine). However, we were not deterred, as what we lack in size, we make up for in commitment and perseverance. We continued with the listing of Cilliní throughout Ireland. After that we put together the Facebook Page and slowly, but steadily we are attempting to spread the word.

 

The tragedy of Milltown of course brought it to the forefront, but it's sad to think that there are so many more, and that behind the numbers are real families who have suffered unimaginable grief. We believe there is still a story that needs to be told.

 

As you said, there is no memorial to mark the locations, but there are those among us who possess the artistic ability to create something like that and those who have what it takes to bring it to fruition. If we can serve as the "convenors" of those who can accomplish projects such as these, then that will be a job well done. If we can possibly create a documentary down the road that tells the situation in the whole of  Ireland, that would be better yet.

 

In any event, we would absolutely love to have you involved in our project. Your expertise and knowledge would be most welcome.

 

Looking forward to hearing from you again.

 

Sincerely,

Maryann Tracy
Belinda Weldon Evangelista

 

 

Limbo Babies

See discussion of Limbo Babies from Richard Dawkins Foundation


http://richarddawkins.net/discussions/587134-limbo-babies