Hello everyone! I have a scene that is giving me trouble on both medical and psychological levels and would appreciate any help I can get
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I have no idea how theologically valid this is, but on the current BBC "Father Brown" mystery series, Father Brown sometimes just makes the sign of the cross over the obviously dying/possibly already dead murder victim and mutters a few all-purpose words like "Ego te absolvo" ("I absolve you..."), which would normally be the conclusion of the Sacrament of Penance portion of the last rites. You could probably get a better idea of what's actually considered essential in this department, at least by current Church standards, by looking up local Catholic churches, then calling the rectory (priests' residence) and telling them you're doing research for a historical-fiction story involving a priest who has to give the last rites in the middle of a battle. If a priest is around and not too busy or cranky to be bothered with non-parish business, this could be a simpler way of obtaining the information than just googling "Roman Catholic last rites/extreme unction [the pre-Vatican II term for last rites]." Although hopefully whatever sites you came up with by doing the latter would specify at some point what the most essential elements of the rites in question were.
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