To sirrahbed.... I had noticed earlier that you and I agreed on this....I assumed it to be due to the full moon....

Roman Catholic practices can vary....although they are not suppose to....based on the country, the diocese, the pastor.

I am loathe to bash the Catholic Church in public....it is like...I can say my sister is a jerk but I would bloody the nose of anyone else who did.

But there is flexibility. Death by suicide is a disqualifier for a church funeral...but if the person was not of right mind when they committed suicide (and who is) then it is okay. (How persmission to marry in the church was granted to my ex-brother-in-law after 17 years of marriage and a child and his current wife who had been married TWICE and had three children is still a bafflement to me.)

So proper can be...in the eyes of the beholder...and the pastor would not have let you do something that was not considered "proper."

and yes...they are monks....