Friday, September 10, 2010

Catholic Church bans footy theme songs at funerals

FOOTY club songs and popular music have been banned from Catholic funerals under strict guidelines sent to priests and funeral directors.

The guidelines for Catholic funerals, sent by Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart, also declare that a funeral should not be a "celebration" of the deceased's life.

"Secular items are never to be sung or played at a Catholic funeral, such as romantic ballads, pop or rock music, political songs, football club songs," the guidelines say.

But outspoken Catholic priest Father Bob Maguire (pictured) described the guidelines as "insensitive".

Funeral service operator Adrian Nelson said footy was an important part of life and club songs were popular requests. "All our MP3 players are loaded up with every club's theme song," he said.

A Herald Sun survey two years ago found the Collingwood theme song was one of the most popular requests at funerals.

Other popular songs included My Way by Frank Sinatra, Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, and Bette Midler's version of The Wind Beneath My Wings.

The new guidelines say a Catholic funeral should never be "a celebration of the life".

They say any celebration should be done at a social occasion before or after the funeral.

Bishop Les Tomlinson, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, stood by the guidelines.

The main focus of a funeral should be "commending the deceased person to God".

He said footy and other popular songs were more appropriate at a wake rather than a church service.

"Reminiscences of the events of the deceased person's life, hobbies or football interests are more appropriate for a wake or informal family gathering outside of the funeral," Bishop Tomlinson said.

Father Maguire said he preferred to think of funerals as "family affairs attended by clergy, not a clergymen's affair attended by family".

"I think (the rules) are a bit insensitive to local sensibilities, and a reversal of grassroots Catholic rituals," he said.

"Around 10 per cent of Catholics will feel more comfortable with these sanitised rituals, but the other 90 per cent want these rituals to reflect their lives."

He said the rules posed a dilemma for clergymen.

"If the bosses say you can't do it, then we're in a position where we have to say you can't do it. You either keep your job and lose the people, or you keep the people and lose your job," he said.

Mr Nelson, of Nelson Bros Funeral Services, said with four funeral homes in the western suburbs, the Western Bulldogs theme song was one of the most popular requests.

He said his funeral directors followed the directive of whoever conducted the ceremony.

"We go by the guidelines of whoever is officiating on the day. Different clergy have different rules for their churches," Mr Nelson said.

General manager of Le Pine Funerals John Fowler said funeral directors acknowledged church rules.

But he said many grieving families wanted to incorporate multimedia presentations, including photographs and video of the deceased person's life.

"Funerals have become a celebration of people's lives and there aren't many that don't include a DVD presentation," he said.

"It really gives you a sense of the joy that this person has brought to the world."

SIC: HS/AUS