Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 2/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello, Fr. Timothy.

Background: a lifelong agnostic lays dying, but who then asks for a priest. Every priest asked, however, refuses to attend on the dying man--because, moreover--they well knew the man and his views. These priests then themselves die. (It was some time ago.)

I'd be interested to know the Church's position on the consequences to the souls of those priests? Would I be right in thinnking they would have departed this world in a state of Mortal sin?

Regards,
Dan O'Hanlon



ANSWER: Hi, Dan:
You ask a question that cannot be answered in view of the scarcity of facts on many sides.
You would hope, wouldn't you that the Priests in question would have repented?
It certainly would be terrible to think that Priests would refuse to attend to anybody dying who requested it.  I once knew of a case where somebody who had not been practicing his faith for many, many years lay dying in his final illness.  I arranged to have a Priest go to attend him.  The Priest called on the family, and his wife would not let the Priest see the man.
You tell me: Will this woman go to hell for refusing to let the Priest minister to her dying husband?

Fr. Timothy Johnson

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello again, Fr. Timothy.

Thank you for your reply, and so swiftly, even if and I must say, you answered my question with another question, asking me to answer my own question. Your reluctance to commit yourself to answering a question on what surely must be for you a distasteful subject is quite understandable; and I agree, the outcome is not possible to ascertain without more facts. Indeed, in the most poignant sense, it is impossible to ascertain at all--but "ascertaining" is not my purpose here.

I am using this--authentic--scenario as a means of working out a philosophical question, meaning, there is a train of thought proceeding here. Therefore, I offer additional facts. A product of what is now euphemistically called "Old Ireland", there were several refusing priests, of whose joint act witnesses still exist.

For the sake of my excercise, then, let us say that at least one of those priests had not repented. My question then, becomes straightforward.

Where would there now be the soul of such a priest?

regards,
Dan O'Hanlon

Answer
Hi, Dan:
From the facts (as presumed to be known and accurate), such a poor Priest must have ridden "Hell Express."  How sad...
But, then, again...since we don't know whether the particular Priest inquestion repented or not, we don't know;
All that we know is that anyone generically speaking who dies with unrepented mortal sin on his/her soul rides "Hell Express"...
Problem is - we never know for sure whether somebody has repented or not.

Fr. Timothy Johnson