By Father Matthew Crane
I’ve been at presentations where the faithful of the Diocese of St. Cloud have scoffed, have called it “medieval,” but it remains a point of law that one becomes a member of a parish not by making a donation, nor attending Mass there, nor joining the Knights of Columbus Council, nor by registering in the parish office. Instead, with only a few exceptions, one legally becomes a member of a parish by virtue of one’s domicile — where a person lives.
Every diocese, remember, is divided up so that every part of its territory is in the territory of one parish or the other. So, if a person lives within the parish boundaries, that person belongs to that parish, which is termed that person’s “proper parish” (see cc. 102, 518).
This becomes an easy way to determine where a member of the faithful would seek and who would look out for a given person’s pastoral care. Infants are to be baptized in their parent’s proper parish church (c. 857 §2). In general, weddings are to be celebrated in the proper parish church of one or the other spouse (cc. 1115, 1118). The pastor is charged with seeing to it that everyone in the territory of the parish has access to the Holy Eucharist and Confession (c. 528 §2).
Likewise, the pastor is to be especially careful to see that all in his territory who are reaching the end of their earthly lives have Viaticum and the Anointing of the Sick (c. 530, 3º). After a parishioner has died, the pastor is to see to an ecclesiastical funeral which, not surprisingly, is usually conducted in the proper parish church of the deceased (cc. 530, 5º; 1177 §1).
I say “usually” because, though c. 1177 §1 sets up the general rule that the deceased person’s funeral is in the person’s proper parish church, the second paragraph of the same canon reads: “It is lawful, however, that anyone of the Faithful, or anyone competent to arrange for the funeral, may choose another church, with the consent of the one in charge of that church and with notification to the proper pastor of the deceased.” I think “anyone of the Faithful, or anyone competent to arrange for the funeral” is a rather broad category! It is fitting, though, because of the extremely delicate circumstances that accompany a death. That there is a rule, that there is a process — “… with the consent of the one in charge … and with notification …” — is a fact I find consoling.
This is, I believe, a pattern in the Church. She does not foolishly ignore the possibility of grief or loss, pretending that nothing bad could ever happen to us. Rather, she is responsible, and establishes good, sensitive rules and processes for handling these delicate, powerful moments.
As we enter further into diocese-wide pastoral planning, adjusting our parochial infrastructure, considering actual mergers and closures, there are real rules and processes already in place. They are good and sensitive ones for merging parishes (c. 515) and rendering churches to secular use (c. 1222). So, in short, I am thankful for the rules (even if they appear a bit medieval), for merely ecclesiastical law, for its sensitivity, its realism, and its care, especially at times of unavoidable grief and loss.