A LIMERICK PRIEST has said it is “totally regrettable and very problematic” that Catholic churches across the Midlands and west have been barred from facilitating open-coffin wakes.

Earlier this week, The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference published a letter that was recently sent to funeral directors by Bishop Paul Connell, Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois.

The diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois includes nearly all of Longford, the greater part of Leitrim, and parts of Cavan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.

While the Bishops’ Conference said there is “no difficulty whatsoever with the remains reposing overnight (with a closed coffin) in the church”, Bishop Connell barred the practice as of 9 February.

In his letter, he wrote that churches are “designed for public worship and quiet prayer and reflection” and that wakes “may involve loud engagement and even the provision of hospitality”.

Speaking to Shannonside FM earlier this month, Bishop Connell remarked: “We have to adhere to some norms and there is a Catholic burial rite that has been there for many years.

“I would ask people to reflect on the fact that when they were younger, this never happened, ever.”

‘Totally unacceptable’

Father Roy Donovan is a parish priest in Co Limerick and therefore works in a diocese not covered by Bishop Connell.

He told The Journal that open-coffin wakes happen in churches all throughout Limerick.

“I have a funeral this week with reposing in the church,” said Fr Donovan.

He is a member of the Association of Catholic Priests, an organisation widely viewed as representing the liberal side of the Church.

“People have choices in many parishes around here of either going to a funeral home or to have the reposing in the church with an open coffin,” added Fr Donovan.

He said there are no issues with the practice in his parish.

“People come and sympathise with the family and the church is set up so people can come in one end and out another.

“When people have finished sympathising, prayers are said and everyone goes home and the church is locked.”

While many people “guard” the remains and ensure there is always someone with the deceased during a wake, this is a tradition in Ireland rather than an obligation.

Meanwhile, Fr Donovan said the move “creates a two-tiered Church” and added: “It’s all right for bishops and priests to be reposed in a church with the coffin open, but laypeople are forbidden.

“That’s totally unacceptable. He’s putting out a pyramid system that bishops and priests have more status than laypeople.”

Clericalism

Fr Donovan said that if such an order was issued in his diocese, he would disobey it.

He added that the “guidelines smack of clericalism, that it’s the priests who are making all these decisions with the bishop”.

The late Pope Francis often tackled clericalism and once described it as a “perversion of the Church”.

Clericalism is often defined as the misuse of overextension of authority by the clergy.

“That’s a bygone time, and the Church in Ireland is on the way out so there’s a lot more serious issues than this,” said Fr Donovan.

“This is a very small issue in the wider field of things.”

Fr Donovan said he has had no complaints from either people or priests about open-coffin wakes in churches and added that “people have to be trusted and are generally very good”.

“There must have been a few abuses of this up the country,” said Fr Donovan, “but why come down heavily on every parish?

“Could he not have addressed the abuses and said, ‘the reposing in the church can continue, you have your prayers, and then everybody goes home and the church is locked’.

“That way you don’t have people bringing in food and drink and having a wake in the traditional ‘Irish’ sense where it can be loud and all of the things that go with it.

“There could have been another way of addressing these abuses, and I don’t know how many abuses there were. Was this just a few priests calling the shots here?”

Bishop Connell had said it was “inappropriate” to have an open-coffin wake in churches “given the sacred nature of the building and in particular the presence of the blessed sacrament”. 

However, Fr Donovan remarked: “The big question is, is the tabernacle more sacred than the people?

“No. And is the church primarily about that kind of individual worship? No. The church is primarily about gathering the community for the Sunday Eucharist, churches are built to gather people together.

“You need to balance the worship part with creating and strengthening community and showing a welcoming Church.”

‘Slave to tradition’

Meanwhile, Bishop Connell said he didn’t know why the practice was allowed in the first place and that it was his understanding that it had “suddenly grew up out of nowhere”.

Fr Donovan pointed to the practice becoming popular since the Covid-pandemic.

He added that his own pastoral council informs people “from time to time that this is an option”.

“We see the church as belonging to the people. They have paid for building and maintaining the church, and they should have a big say in how the church is used.

“I think a lot of people are upset by this. I trust the people, and the people have to take over more, and I’m trying to encourage more of that.”

And while Fr Donvan acknowledged that most wakes in the past were held in homes, he added that the “practice has changed”.

“Most people, I find, are not into the big occasion, where everyone’s got to be fed. I have seen very few of those in recent times.

“Things develop and change, you don’t have to be a slave to tradition, you have to go with the times and discern the best practices in the modern times we’re in.

“We’re in this together and we try to find solutions together. The last thing you want to do is impose restrictions and regulations.”