Lutheran's funeral in Catholic cathedral unusual, but permitted

Published: 2005-09-06

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The announcement that the funeral of Chief Justice William Rehnquist would be held at Washington's St. Matthew Cathedral raised questions about the ecumenical provisions allowing a Lutheran funeral in a Catholic church. After his Sept. 3 death, the funeral for Rehnquist, a Lutheran, was scheduled for the Catholic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Washington. The Sept. 7 funeral was to be a Lutheran service, which is permitted in a Catholic church with the approval of the local bishop, said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese. Gibbs said allowing services of another denomination to be held in a Catholic church "is not that common, but we're happy to be able to do it when we can." St. Matthew's was made available at the request of the Rehnquist family when the date they wished to hold the funeral conflicted with the schedule for the National Cathedral, the Episcopalian-administered church often used for large funerals of Washington public figures of various denominations.

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