Priest proves no comfort in shadow of death A New Mexico family is suing the local Catholic church over a funeral in which the priest allegedly said their relative was only a middling Catholic who was going straight to hell. Lawyers for the family of Ben Martinez say they have filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe and one of its priests. Court papers filed last month say Rev Scott Mansfield said at Martinez's funeral last year that the deceased was "living in sin", "lukewarm in his faith" and that "the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell". Martinez, 80, died June 17, 2002. Roughly 200 people attended the funeral at St Patrick's Parish in Chama, New Mexico, a small town north of Santa Fe. Family members say he was a practising Catholic all his life but was too ill to attend church in the last year of his life. Nine members of the Martinez family are seeking punitive and compensatory damages for severe emotional and physical suffering. Lawyers did not say how much the family was seeking in damages. One of the plaintiffs says the townspeople "are staring at her, thinking her father is in hell". The complaint also said that as Rev Mansfield walked to the grave, he laced his comments about Martinez - a former town councilman - with profanities. "These people are profoundly hurt," said lawyer Kathleen Kentish-Lucero, representing the Martinez family. "If you are Catholic and a representative of your church says your father is going to hell, that's perhaps the most devastating thing someone can say to you," she said. But church officials deny the family's claims. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s904146.htm
