A Catholic funeral may be denied to LGBT people to avoid "public scandal of the faithful," according to new directives in the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin. The communication from vicar general Fr. James Bartylla regarding "Consideration of Funeral Rites for a Person in a Homosexual Civil or Notorious Union" was sent to priests of the diocese as part of a weekly email. It was made public by the Pray Tell blog Oct. 22. Early reporting on the directives attributed the communication to Madison Bishop Robert Morlino. The diocese issued a statement clarifying that "the communication attributed to Bishop Morlino was not an official diocesan policy, though it does conform with the mind of the bishop and meet his approval." The document encourages pastors to "think through the issue thoroughly and prudently" and to contact the bishop for guidance. "The main issue centers around scandal and confusion (leading others into the occasion of sin or confusing or weakening people regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church in regards to sacred doctrine and the natural law)," the document said, "and thereby the pastoral task is to minimize the risk of scandal and confusion to others amidst the solicitude for the deceased and family."

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Several of the suggestions in the letter concerned the surviving partner, who should "not have any public or prominent role" at a funeral rite or service or be mentioned in any liturgical booklet, prayer card or homily, the document said. In addition, the name of a celebrating priest or parish should not be listed in any public obituary that also lists the predeceased or surviving partner. "This can't happen for obvious reasons," the document said. The statement released by Brent King, director of communications for the Madison Diocese, said Bartylla's communication "was a result of pastoral questions asked by the priests themselves, and was to serve as a tool to provide some framework and considerations, in this confidential setting." "No such policy could adequately cover every case, and it has always been the 'policy' of the Diocese of Madison, on the matter of public funerals in general, that pastors are charged with addressing the particular situations of their people — whom they ideally know well and whom they have accompanied, even until their death," the statement said. An advocate for lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual Catholics criticized the directives, calling them "heartless," "cruel" and "unchristian in the extreme." "This document is the very antithesis of pastoral care," Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, which works for LGBT equality in church and society, said in an Oct. 22 statement. "It shows that this bishop believes that lesbian and gay people who have lived a deep commitment to a spouse or partner should be demeaned even in death," she said. "Our families could be refused the sacraments of our faith at the moment of their greatest grief."

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