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The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers (CMHM) is one ministry in the Church dedicated to helping parishes and dioceses establish mental health ministries by providing free resources.
The tragic suicide of a beloved sheriff in a small county in New Jersey shows how the Catholic Church, which once banned Catholic funerals for those who died by suicide, now responds to suicide.
“Suicide is a human tragedy that shakes families and shatters hearts,” Paterson Bishop Kevin Sweeney said in a statement to CNA following the death of Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik. Hundreds gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in the Diocese of Paterson for the wake and funeral of the sheriff, a Catholic and fourth degree Knight of Columbus.
Berdnik, who had more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement, died last month from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
The rector of the cathedral, Monsignor Geno Sylva, knew Berdnik and his family for many years. He gave the homily at the funeral Mass last Wednesday. In it, Msgr. Sylva recalled “our sheriff” working on fixing the HVAC unit before his nephew’s baptism in the same cathedral.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
The tragic suicide of a beloved sheriff in a small county in New Jersey shows how the Catholic Church, which once banned Catholic funerals for those who died by suicide, now responds to suicide.
“Suicide is a human tragedy that shakes families and shatters hearts,” Paterson Bishop Kevin Sweeney said in a statement to CNA following the death of Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik. Hundreds gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in the Diocese of Paterson for the wake and funeral of the sheriff, a Catholic and fourth degree Knight of Columbus.
Berdnik, who had more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement, died last month from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
The rector of the cathedral, Monsignor Geno Sylva, knew Berdnik and his family for many years. He gave the homily at the funeral Mass last Wednesday. In it, Msgr. Sylva recalled “our sheriff” working on fixing the HVAC unit before his nephew’s baptism in the same cathedral.
Continued below.
New Jersey Sheriff’s Funeral Mass Shows Church’s Development of Approach to Suicide
The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers (CMHM) is one ministry in the Church dedicated to helping parishes and dioceses establish mental health ministries by providing free resources.
