Madam, - John T Kavanagh (April 25th) reminds me "that not all regular churchgoers are necessarily good people, no more than all those who do not attend are bad people". By this he seems to imply that the funeral rites of the Catholic Church honour good people. This is a popular misconception.
The purpose of the Catholic funeral is to pray for the forgiveness of sins and salvation of the person who has died. Due to a loss of faith and increased secularisation, honouring the dead person with eulogies, secular music and poems has become more popular but it is not in keeping with the purpose of the Catholic funeral whose focus is to pray for a merciful judgment. A cursory reading of the Prayers and Rites of the Requiem etc illustrates how out of place at a Catholic funeral is the effort to honour the person and celebrate their life, as it is often termed, while neglecting their need for forgiveness, purification and ultimately salvation.
In this context it is strange that people like Mr Kavanagh, who by his own admission does not believe, receive or ask for the forgiveness of sins through the ministry of the church in life, would wish to have their funeral in a church whose rites have the sole purpose of praying for their salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
After numerous letters to the paper on the subject of his funeral, Mr Kavanagh can hardly claim that whatever about his death, his funeral will overtake him like a thief in the night. So Mr Kavanagh, inform your relatives of your wishes for when you are gone out of respect for other people's religion and to avoid putting your family in an invidious position. - Yours, etc,
Fr GREGORY O'BRIEN, PP, Christ the King Church, Cabra, Dublin 7.