Can a Public Sinner Have a Catholic Funeral?
Q: When opera star Luciano Pavarotti died in Italy recently, he had a big funeral in a Catholic church. Lots of famous people attended, and the bishop was there. Even the Pope issued a statement saying positive things about him. But nobody seems to be paying much attention to the fact that some years ago, Pavarotti left his wife and ran off with a woman half her age, whom I assume he married outside the Church. Why did church leaders ignore his scandalous life, and allow him to have a Catholic funeral, after he openly flaunted the Church’s teachings on marriage? — Betsy A: The April 27 column discussed the possibility of celebrating a funeral Mass for a non-Catholic who had been married to a Catholic. In the course of that discussion, we saw that in general, deceased Catholics have the right to a church funeral, including a burial Mass (c. 1176.1). The Church may, however, refuse a church funeral to Catholics in certain specific situations. Canon 1184.1 notes that unless they gave sign
