The new guidelines on funeral rites, including the discouragement of eulogies, are being considered by the Catholic Church Liturgy Commission. A senior Church of Ireland clergyman has said he agrees with the Catholic primate about eulogies. The commission has been discussing the topic for the past few months and the guidelines document, expected in June, will deal with funeral rites, including choice of music, readings and offertory gifts.
The issues have been highlighted by the directive of the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Sean Brady, to priests in his diocese. He said that requests by members of the family to speak after Communion should be firmly but sensitively refused and there should be no eulogies.
The archbishop is, however, reflecting current Catholic thinking on such matters and the Dean of Christ Church, Dr John Paterson, agrees with him. The secretary of the Commission on the Liturgy in Maynooth, Father Patrick Jones, said yesterday that one of the concerns was about eulogies but another was about choice of readings. Sometimes there were requests for readings which were not biblical, sometimes there was a poem. If relatives wanted to say words of appreciation or have a particular reading, perhaps it could take place at the reception of the remains or a vigil service, he pointed out. If appropriate, the priest could include them in his homily, which should be personal and sensitive.
"A eulogy is literally praise and thanks, so it is a prayer," Father Jones said. "So many (eulogies) go on for ever and are over the top. It is best not done."
Offertory gifts were another concern. Many priests had asked about the growing practice of bringing all sorts of personal items up to the altar.
"This is a moment where the bread and wine are brought forward. Perhaps if somebody had a rosary, Bible or prayer book, they could be placed on the coffin," he said. If people wanted to say a word of thanks and appreciation it should not interrupt the flow of the liturgy. "There is a tendency to allow the intervention at the part where the liturgy, the Mass, was interrupted, so the reception of the remains may be a better place."
Father Paul Clayton-Lee, chairman of the Armagh Diocesan Liturgy Commission, said this issue was a cause for concern. It had developed in spite of the stipulation in the order of Christian funerals that a homily should be given but never any kind of eulogy.
He said while members of the bereaved family should be fully involved in the liturgy and its preparation, it was important to ensure that families were not put under any additional stress to provide some form of eulogy.
In the Church of Ireland, Dr Paterson said he agreed with Dr Brady. "Both churches have very fine funeral rites and there is no need to ignore that by do-it-yourself liturgy." Dr Paterson said he did not think the trend was quite so marked within the Church of Ireland. However, his church had the same view on eulogies at funerals as the Catholic Church.