Chicago Archdiocese Declares Suiciders "Are With God," Dedicates Memorial
The memorial, titled "At Peace," is located at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.
According to the Archdiocese, it is the first memorial established by a Catholic archdiocese in the United States specifically for suiciders.
The Vicar General, auxiliary Bishop Lawrence Sullivan, said in a June 24 statement that the memorial was created to "honor the lives lost to suicide".
And: "Historically, the Catholic Church denied Catholic funerals in churches and burials in consecrated ground for individuals who died by suicide. The Church has undergone a significant transformation in its understanding of suicide and mental illness and now recognizes that many who die by suicide suffer from mental illness and unbearable pain. The Church now embraces these individuals and affirms that they are with God, not condemned."
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