Freethought & Rationalism Archive

SLD · 07-28-2003, 07:29 AM

This is just one for the wierd:

Church sued over going to hell remark at funeral

From the story:

Quote:

SANTA FE, N.M. - A New Mexico family is suing their local Catholic church over a funeral Mass in which they said the priest declared their relative was only a middling Catholic and going straight to hell.

Lawyers for the family of Ben Martinez filed a lawsuit in June against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe and one of its priests.

Court papers say the priest, Father Scott Mansfield, said at Martinez's funeral last year that the deceased was ``living in sin,'' ``lukewarm in his faith'' and that ``the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell.''

Martinez, 80, died June 17, 2002. Some 200 people attended the funeral at St. Patrick's Parish in Chama, New Mexico, a small town north of Santa Fe. Family members say he was a practicing Catholic but was too ill to attend church in the last year of his life.

Nine members of the Martinez family are seeking damages for severe emotional and physical suffering. Lawyers did not say how much the family was seeking.

Church officials deny the family's claims.

SLD

Coragyps · 07-28-2003, 11:05 AM

Hmmm. For just the opposite, let's go back a dozen years to my father-in-law's funeral. The minister there, who FiL had never met, said something to the effect of: "I understand that this man said 'I know where I'm going!' Isn't that glorious folks? He knows where he's going! To heaven, to be with Jeezus!"

Except the ol' FiL hadn't darkened the door of a church in thirty years or more, and that's not the place he was planning on going....
But we didn't sue anyone.

dimpledop · 07-28-2003, 06:04 PM

Weird indeed...

So much for one of religion's main attractions: social support.

That was a rotten thing to say to a grieving family. Hearing such nastiness spat at one of their own (a theist *and* a family member) must have come as quite a shock. It's too bad that people are willing to hand over so much power to religion and its leaders. But hell *is* a big part of the christian mythology, and the priest used it as a weapon. He must've had one heck of an underlying conflict with one or more members of the deceased's family, or the deceased himself.

Defiant Heretic · 07-29-2003, 02:23 AM

Well, the priest was a jackass, but I wish people would actually deal with their own problems for once instead of suing everyone for "emotional trauma". I would simply refuse to pay the priest and throw him out if it wasn't in the church when it happened.

Jimmy Higgins · 07-29-2003, 05:58 AM

I think the proper reward to the family would be 10 sharp kicks into that priest's arse. They could hire a horse if they wanted to, in order to make with the kicking.

Godless Dave · 07-30-2003, 10:25 AM

Instead of suing the priest they should leave their fucked up religion. What the priest said is what their religion teaches. It's like marrying a man with a long history of domestic violence and then complaining when he hits you.

Polycrates · 07-31-2003, 08:02 PM

That reminds me of my parents' story about their wedding. Apparently the minister made a comment along the lines of 'may you be together always, even when you're burning in the fiery pits of hell for your unbelief'
The tact of some of these guys is amazing.

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07-28-2003, 11:05 AM	#2
Coragyps Veteran Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Snyder,Texas,USA Posts: 4,411	Hmmm. For just the opposite, let's go back a dozen years to my father-in-law's funeral. The minister there, who FiL had never met, said something to the effect of: "I understand that this man said 'I know where I'm going!' Isn't that glorious folks? He knows where he's going! To heaven, to be with Jeezus!" Except the ol' FiL hadn't darkened the door of a church in thirty years or more, and that's not the place he was planning on going.... But we didn't sue anyone.

07-28-2003, 06:04 PM	#3
dimpledop Regular Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, ON CANADA Posts: 250	Weird indeed... So much for one of religion's main attractions: social support. That was a rotten thing to say to a grieving family. Hearing such nastiness spat at one of their own (a theist and a family member) must have come as quite a shock. It's too bad that people are willing to hand over so much power to religion and its leaders. But hell is a big part of the christian mythology, and the priest used it as a weapon. He must've had one heck of an underlying conflict with one or more members of the deceased's family, or the deceased himself.

07-29-2003, 02:23 AM	#4
Defiant Heretic Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,288	Well, the priest was a jackass, but I wish people would actually deal with their own problems for once instead of suing everyone for "emotional trauma". I would simply refuse to pay the priest and throw him out if it wasn't in the church when it happened.

07-29-2003, 05:58 AM	#5
Jimmy Higgins Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Proud Citizen of Freedonia Posts: 42,473	I think the proper reward to the family would be 10 sharp kicks into that priest's arse. They could hire a horse if they wanted to, in order to make with the kicking.

07-30-2003, 10:25 AM	#6
Godless Dave Contributor Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: With 10,000 lakes who needs a coast? Posts: 10,762	Instead of suing the priest they should leave their fucked up religion. What the priest said is what their religion teaches. It's like marrying a man with a long history of domestic violence and then complaining when he hits you.

07-31-2003, 08:02 PM	#7
Polycrates Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 329	That reminds me of my parents' story about their wedding. Apparently the minister made a comment along the lines of 'may you be together always, even when you're burning in the fiery pits of hell for your unbelief' The tact of some of these guys is amazing.

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