Archbishop Bans Pop Music At Funerals

pickens writes "The NY Times reports that the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne has announced a ban on the playing of pop music at funerals, which, he said, are not to be described as 'a celebration of the life of' the deceased. According to new guidelines published on Archbishop Denis Hart's Web site: '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.' According to a cemetery contacted by Melbourne's Herald Sun, a list of more unusual songs played at Australian funerals includes: 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' by Monty Python, 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen, 'Highway to Hell,' by AC/DC and 'Ding Dong the Witch is Dead' from The Wizard of Oz."

not new

[ook_boo]

They are just stating the policy of the church as is always has been (that the funeral is a well-defined service not meant to be a wake or memorial of the life of the deceased), and noting that celebrations or memorials of the person's life can be held at a separate celebration or even at a separate mass. It's also known that the church has not been enforcing its own policies in some parishes. Possibly the real news is that the NY Times reporter is so ignorant of the Catholic church that he thinks this is all newsworthy.