Question for Christians, more specifically catholics?

Question

My friend daniela commited suicide last week, and during her funeral her casket was placed into the wall instead of the ground. I'm pretty educated in my bible and catechism, but I don't seem to remeber reading anything about not being able to be burried into the ground what's the reason for this? I do remeber my brother once say that a catholic who has commited suicide can't recieve a proper burial is this true? Sorry for not asking my parents I just don't feel like talking about it to people and I was just curious. Also, please pray for my friend she was a very good person and I don't understand why she did it.

Answer 1

my prayers are with you and your friend.

your friend was put "into a wall" because in some places that is how people are buried - they have run out of ground space or possibly becuase her parents could afford it - it's more expensive generally.

your brother is incorrect in his understanding. in the Catholic church, now that they have more understanding of the mental anquish a person is going through to commit a suidice - they are granted a full Christian burial. they have also gone to bless the graves of those not given proper burials.

YEARS ago my great aunt committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a freight train when she couldn't stand her husbands infidelity anymore. she was not buried in the church graveyard. my cousin hung himself about a decade ago - he was buried in the church graveyard with a proper Christian mass.

when a person committs suicide, i'm sorry but they are trruly not in their right mind. this is a sickness - she was not doing it to spite God but rather lost sight of God.
my prayers are that she is with Him now.
Eternal rest grant unto her oh Lord and let perpetual light shine upon her!

Answer 2

It seems like your friend was buried in a Mausoleum. It is a burial ground, even though it is a resting place in a wall of buildings (for the dead) or group of walls with many burial spots in the wall.. A lot of people prefer to bury their dead in a mausoleum rather than in the ground. It is just a matter of chose and what one is accustomed to and can afford as a burial in a mausoleum is much more costly than a in-ground burial spot, and it has nothing to do with being Catholic or a Suicide Victim. Mausoleums are for everyone that chooses to be buried in one.
What your brother told you is incorrect. Today this is not so. Suicide Victims are not judged as mortal sinners but poor victims of some sort of mental illness. Only God can judge and we leave the judging to God. A long time ago, this was true for a lot of religions and not specifically Catholic, where those who had committed suicides were buried outside the walls of the Cemetery.. thought I have not heard this happening in a Catholic funeral that I have ever attended.
We trust in God's mercy and love. Pray for your friend and ask God's Mercy upon her.
God Bless and give you His Peace.

Answer 3

Catholics previously condemned suicide but later accepted the fact that we could never tell what happened between God and the person as the act is being committed - did he/she ask for forgiveness? only God knows...so catholics no longer have a distinction in their burial rites whether the person committed suicide or not - aside from praying for them more.


Regarding the manner Daniela's casket was placed, it would be best to look if her casket was the only one placed this way or were the other caskets the same?


My prayers are with her, you, and everyone of significance to her.

Answer 4

I am pretty sure that now days the benefit of the doubt is always given in the case of suicide. We do not know if there was some sort of mental disorder involved or not. The thing is, is in the old days it was forbidden for them to be buried in consecrated ground. I bet you anything though that the niche in the wall was consecrated just like a regular grave site in the ground would be. I really do not think that most priests today would go as far as to refuse this last bit of grace. They would do it just on the condition it should have been done. Remember God is outside of time so pray for her now. Pray for Jesus' Divine Mercy for her as right before she died he could have saved her and we would never know. Your prayers now could possible be applied to her at her death so pray.

Answer 5

Suicide actually isn't that simple. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2325 Suicide is seriously contrary to justice, hope, and charity. It is forbidden by the fifth commandment.


HOWEVER, the Catechism also teaches:

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.
**Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.**

When the Catechism speaks of "diminishing responsibility" it is saying that there is still reason to hope for the Salvation of even a suicide victim.

You have to remember that Jesus has the final say as far as the final destination of one's soul is going to be. We don't do that because, as much as the Church has to teach about salvation and condemnation, we cannot see into the hearts of other human beings. People seldom really know what's in their own hearts, never mind someone else's.

I am sorry for your loss. Just consider that you do have reason to hope for your friends absolution and, thus, salvation.

With God, nothing is impossible.

Answer 6

Being buried in a 'wall' is a burial option chosen by her family.It is an alternative to a ground burial. Many people find it easier than burying a loved one in the ground.

The columbarium or wall burials ARE a proper burial.

As far as suicide, it used to be that suicides were not buried in blessed ground. Now, we believe that those who take there lives likely suffer from some mental distress that drives them to it- and we trust them to God's mercy.

Very few people commit suicide because it is what they WANT to do- they feel it is their only choice. That is why we believe God takes care of them in both His mercy and His justice. He knows the state of mind they were in.

I will keep your friend in my prayers- we also lost a young man in our town last week- I know it is a confusing time for you are eneryone who knows her.

Answer 7

What I've heard is similar to what your brother said. Whether that is still true today, I don't know, but it definitely used to be that people who commited suicide couldn't receive a proper Catholic burial because they had broken the commandment not to kill anyone, and they hadn't had a chance to confess to a priest before they died. That's my understanding. Whether that is true today in your church, as I said, I don't know. I suggest you search on google for Catholic websites to see what they say about suicide. That might give you an idea of the general Catholic stance on suicide today.

Answer 8

Your friend's family chose for her to be buried in a masoleum instead of the groung. This was not because she killed herself.

Catholics believe suicide when committed in full knowledge and deliberate consent is a complete turning away from God (a mortal sin) and will send a person to hell.

There are 3 conditions of a mortal sin: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent.

While suicide (or any kind of murder) is always a grave matter, people who commit suicide may not always have full knowledge of what they're doing. Drugs can definitely impair one's thinking, as can other things, such as diseases, intense pain, or anguish.

Therefore, suicide is not automatically treated as a mortal sin.

We are commanded by Christ not to judge others so we leave final judgment to God who alone knows each person's heart.

With love and prayers in Christ.

Answer 9

I'm a Catholic and still practicing (I leave to others, and God, to say how well). I never acquired the practice of crossing myself in stressful situations. (The family was a "mixed marriage" and I do not recall that the sisters and priests in Catholic grade school emphacized the practice.) In these days, I notice it very, very often among major league ball players from Central and South America. It's had to guage for anyone other than myself how much is merely a deepely instilled childhood habit, how much is the remainder of a religious faith and community belonging that have, by circumstance and choices, become seemingly lost, I am "of a certain age" and rather far from the horizons of middle age achievement. At this point in my life, I am content enough to be grateful for whatever good and decent gifts of childhood might serve well what life throws at me. Thanks for the question and candor.

Answer 10

They USED TO not be allowed to be buried with a Catholic funeral....until it became widely accepted that suicide is a result of a tremendous illness and that those who commit suicide were not in their right mind.

The casket going into the wall might be a family vault in the cemetary or according to local custom and/or mandate for space. Our local cemetary has a special area for children.

Regardless, your friend Daniela is now at rest, in peace and NOT in hell. Remember, she had to have been in some incredible anguish in order to have committed the ultimate act of violence against herself.