Belgium: Religious funeral for a dog
In Belgium, Miss Chiwa, a female Chihuahua of 11 years and television celebrity, was granted a religious funeral on April 22nd last. This took place in the church of Auvelais (eastern-central Belgium) In the presence of a few dozen persons, mostly accompanied by their pets. In his “homily”, Fr. Francis Lallemand claimed that the attendees were not “present to celebrate a funeral, but to show our support at the loss of a beloved creature. We want to share our sympathy and compassion with Sylvana and Josse (Miss Chiwa’s owners - on the picture). There is a special domestication that can bring an animal to take up an important place in a life.”
After the “ceremony,” the priest explained to Media Infocatho on April 17th, 2015, that “the distress of the owners and the celebrity of the dog made me agree. But we must also be able to say stop. And I also have something the Pope said in mind; he recently said that the Church should open up to the peripheries. This event was an opportunity to meet this audience. But the goal was not to bring some people to the Christian faith.”
Faced with the outcry that followed, the bishop of Namur responded with a public statement on April 24th on the diocese website. He said that “Fr. Francis Lallemand wished to be close to the people who were sad at losing their pet, to whom they were emotionally attached. It is always possible to pray with and for those who are suffering, but it is essential that any ambiguity that could sow the seeds of confusion about Christian funerals should be avoided. In future it should be more clearly specified what is possible and what is not.” –And about time, for it is already being said that the shepherd Lallemand is the chaplain to Chihuahuas, the creator of a liturgy for dogs!
(Sources: kipa-apic.ch – InfoCatho – DICI no. 315, 15/05/15)
