By Isaac Gomes

Kolkata: On February 21, the grief-stricken relatives of a stillborn child contacted the priest in charge of a parish under Baruipur diocese and requested him to conduct the funeral rites a stillborn child.

They were shocked when the priest declined, saying he would neither bless the child nor conduct the funeral rites, as the child was not baptized.

In spite of repeated requests from the grieving family, the priest remained adamant. The aggrieved family contacted some priests in Kolkata who told them that as a general principle, the church encourages funeral rites for unbaptized infants and stillborn babies.

The parish priest relented only after his vicar general instructed him to bless the child. The burial had to be conducted by the child’s family members on February 22.

The moot point here is the said parish priest was more insistent on dogma than his primary duty to show pastoral concern for the bereaved family. He should have known that The Code of Canon Law, revised in 1983, broadens the privilege of Christian burial and restricts further instances of its denial (an extreme penalty levied upon those who committed intolerable acts against the Church) in response to several significant legal-pastoral developments since the 1917 Code. He should also read Catechism of the Catholic Church 1261 to deepen his understanding of pastoral duties.

Barring unbaptized infants from the rites of the Church and burial in blessed family plots has been odiosa (hateful) from the day of the Code’s promulgation. As the Christian funeral rite renders a significant service to the bereaved, due consideration of their plight must be given to assure a continued dialogue between the Church and the faithful.

Since the denial of Christian burial is implemented primarily as a penalty against those who have committed crimes against the Church, the lack of concession to an innocent infant was an unusually harsh penalty even in a period of legal rigor. (Source: The Catholic Lawyer: The Right of Ecclesiastical Burial by Reverend Joseph N. Perry – Volume 28 Number 4, 1983) https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2169&context=tcl

It is particularly troubling when the parents of a deceased infant or stillborn sincerely seek the Church’s liturgy and are instead met with indifference (of priest-in-charge). The fact is the Church has many liturgical resources that offer strong comfort, spiritual solace and hope in the face of grief to parents and families of deceased infants and stillborns.

In this context, the link https://www.bostoncatholic.org/pastoral-notes-celebration-liturgical-rites-deceased-infants-and-stillborn-or-miscarried-infants categorically provides Pastoral Notes on the Celebration of Liturgical Rites for Deceased Infants and Stillborn or Miscarried infants. Some notes from the link are given below:

1. Should we baptize infants who have died or are stillborn?

Particular care needs to be given when a child is stillborn or dies shortly after birth. Parents will ask, often with sad persistence, that a priest or deacon baptize the child. In their loving concern, the parent’s underlying anxiety is really asking, “Is my unbaptized child with God?” Pastoral caregivers can confidently recall the words from the Catechism:
“As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: ‘Let them come to me, do not hinder them’ allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without baptism.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1261).
2. What other rites can be used with parents of deceased, stillborn or miscarried unbaptized infants?

Pastoral ministers will find many resources in the Order of Christian Funerals (OCF) Part II “Funeral Rites for Children.” Each prayer for a dead child also offers an alternative for a child who died before receiving baptism. Even if the child’s body is not present, the use of readings and prayer from the OCF can be very comforting to the family of a deceased infant. Parish priests testify to the effectiveness of the use of the “Order for Blessing of Parents after a Miscarriage” in the case of stillborn or miscarried babies. If the body of the child is present, often the ceremonies of naming and signing the child from the Rite of Baptism can be consoling when celebrated together with this blessing. (Books of Blessings IX p. 86)
Effective pastoral presence and sympathetic words are at the heart of sound pastoral care. A parish priest from Kolkata succinctly emphasised that Pastoral Care is the key to keep the faithful together.
3. How should parishes and hospital ministers respond when parents of stillborns or infants who died without baptism request funeral rites?

Odd as it may seem, we have found that this is a request not always understood or honoured by priests and other pastoral ministers. As a general principle, the Church encourages funeral rites for unbaptized infants and stillborn babies.

In preparing funeral rites for situations such as these, we should keep in mind the following principles:
1. Part II of the OCF provides liturgical rites and texts for “Funeral Rites for Children” including the “Funeral Liturgy” with Mass in the presence of the body and “Funeral Liturgy outside of Mass” is also provided for in the OCF.
2. The OCF contains a section in Part I called “Related Rites and Prayers.” Here are found brief prayers and rites to be used in a home, hospital, or funeral home with family and friends after the death of a loved one. Note the instructions of OCF # 234 regarding adaptation of prayers. This adaptation, using Scripture and prayers from the funeral liturgy for children, is most important pastorally.
3. The OCF encourages the use of those rites that will best meet the needs of the family and community. “The minister, in consultation with those concerned, chooses those rites that best correspond to the particular needs and customs of the mourners. This is done with pastoral sensitivity to the parents (which will meet the family’s needs) and immediate family but also bearing in mind the great support that a prayerful community can offer.

4. Funeral directors sometimes discourage liturgical rites for infants and stillborns. How do we deal with this?

• Parents who desire an element of a Catholic funeral liturgy for their child have a right to a positive response. In the case of reluctant funeral director, the local pastor, should support the request of parents and family for a funeral liturgy.
• The cemetery is the appropriate site for the Rite of Committal. We should note the special rite for “Final Commendation for an Infant” (OCF # 337-342) as particularly suited to the committal of stillborns and infants who have died soon after birth.

Burying those who have died at any age is seen by the Church as a corporal work of mercy. Therefore, the Church encourages a funeral rite for children whose baptism was intended by their parents, but who died before being baptized. (Source:
https://www.usccb.org/committees/pro-life-activities/solace-and-strength-sorrow-miscarriage

There must be clarity/uniformity on funeral rites of infants and stillborns across all dioceses instead of leaving it to interpretation of dogmatic and indifferent parish priests and bishops. After all they are ordained to serve the People of God who, according to Bishop Stephen Lepcha of Darjeeling, chairman of Bengal-Sikkim Regional Laity Commission, constitute 99 percent of the Catholic Church. My question to the omnipotent 1 percent is Quo Vadis?