Philando Castile funeral at noon Thursday at St. Paul Cathedral - although not Catholic

The funeral of Philando Castile will take place at noon Thursday at the St. Paul Cathedral, while the family’s attorney said a lawsuit over his shooting death by a St. Anthony police officer is imminent.

Services will begin Thursday with a processional from Brooks Funeral Home, 862 Concordia Av. in St. Paul that will end at the cathedral at 11 a.m. After a viewing, the service will begin at noon. The service is closed to media.
STrib

Prayers for all involved.  Obviously killing an innocent citizen during a traffic stop is the greatest injustice, but in addition all conceal carry* holders should certainly be supportive of the political cause the family is pursuing.  Lawfully being armed gives an officer no right to treat a citizen as if they are acting with hostility.  Do not allow the wicked actions of some in the Black Lives Matter movement to cloud the importance of justice for the victim in this case.  It is not anti-cop to demand accountability for a fellow arms bearer whom was shot if it was without justifiable cause.

*Conceal carry based on media reports, the actual evidence in the matter is still not clear.

HT Rocco

Update:
Okay it's getting a little weird.
The service will not be a Mass, as Philando was from a non-Catholic Christian tradition, according to the archdiocese. At a July 12 press conference on the Minnesota State Capitol lawn, spokespeople for the family said the Castiles are part of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in St. Paul, and that its pastor, Steve Daniels Jr., plans to deliver a eulogy. Father John Ubel, the Cathedral’s rector, will preside at the funeral.
Speaking at the press conference, Valerie Castile said she wanted her son’s funeral to be held at the Cathedral “because he was a king.”
“My son is a king, and he is also a martyr, so I thought that was the best place for his services,” she said.
The Catholic Spirit

It certainly seems strange for the Archdiocese to offer a "funeral" in this case.... whether the royal lineage has been established or not.  An ecumenical prayer service seems a bit more appropriate.  Hopefully another King comes up in passing.

6 comments:

Terry Nelson said...

Weird you say?

Badger Catholic said...

I think of a funeral as a rite, not really for politicizing. Since the party is non-Catholic, yes it seems weird. We can bury the dead, but I'm not sure an appropriate ecumenical way to eulogize. The archdiocese is certainly in the right to reach out to this family and to protect anyone of any denomination, I just don't know a funeral is the place. Maybe I'm wrong, perhaps this is done all the time, like for non-Catholic politicians or whomever requests it, sort of like an inter-religious marriage ceremony. It's just the first time I had seen this.

Badger Catholic said...

I guess a funeral isn't a sacrament either so maybe it doesn't matter. ... but as sorrowful and discombobulated as the mother must be, I really didn't understand her reasoning.

Dad29 said...

We are becoming aware of some facts in the police action which are not being advertised by the MSM, too.

As to the Diocese' granting this favor: it runs the risk of elevating the dead man to "martyr" status, exactly as his mother said. Prudence would contra-indicate this permission.

Badger Catholic said...

Agreed

Mr. Tanner said...

I am having a Bar Mitzva for my son next year, can I rent the Cathedral for that?