MICHELLE O'Neill has insisted it was Church leaders who misunderstood rules around the number of mourners who could attend funerals when Bobby Storey's Requiem Mass was celebrated on Tuesday.
During a press conference at Stormont yesterday, Ms O'Neill again said "everything that I did was within the regulations".
The deputy first minister said churches have been allowed to hold funerals with as many mourners as can be safely accommodated within a building since Monday.
The Diocese of Down and Connor would therefore have been wrong in seeking to apply a cap of 10 mourners at Mr Storey's funeral, which was attended by around 120 people when it was held in St Agnes's Church in Andersonstown on Tuesday.
Ms O'Neill said there had been a "lack of understanding on behalf of the clergy".
"So we had a very clear and robust conversation with the Church leaders around the fact that they can open for Requiem Mass from Monday, and it was for them to decide the numbers that they could take into the church, as long as it was safe within the public health guidelines, social distancing and hand-washing - all the other things that we're asking people to do," she told reporters.
"So I'm fairly certain that there was, you know, a lack of understanding on behalf of the clergy and that's something that we need to rectify.
"But I'm very confident about what was agreed and what was suggested to them."
The deputy first minister's position is in contrast with a letter, dated Friday June 26, to faith leaders from Executive Office junior ministers Gordon Lyons of the DUP and Declan Kearney of Sinn Féin about the safe reopening of churches.
It emphasised that weddings, baptisms and funerals were not covered by its advice. "The Executive will consider this further early next week," wrote the Sinn Féin and DUP ministers.
At Monday's coronavirus briefing, led by first minister Arlene Foster and Ms O'Neill, it was said that the Executive intended to discuss weddings and funerals on Thursday.
The Diocese of Down and Connor said its position had not changed.
"In full compliance with legislation and public health advice, guidance was issued by the diocese on June 4 to parishes that attendance at funeral Masses inside churches was restricted to 10 mourners," it said.
The diocese said it received notification of changes concerning numbers attending funerals from the Executive Office on Tuesday evening.
Parishes were informed about the updated guidance on Wednesday morning.
This enabled more than 10 mourners to attend the funeral of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe.
The Irish News understands that the limit of 10 had been communicated by the church to the organisers of Mr Storey's funeral.
While St Agnes's has reopened for private prayer, it is also understood that final preparations for a return to public worship had not been signed off by the diocese on Tuesday.
Down and Connor's own risk management plan for the reopening of churches states that there should be a "maximum of two people per pew conforming to social distancing requirements with the pew in front and behind".
Ms O'Neill has said there were three people to a pew at Mr Storey's funeral.
Meanwhile, the Presbyterian Church said it had asked for "much needed clarification and regrettably that was not forthcoming on Thursday as anticipated".
"The situation has now been clarified from today, Friday, 3 July, with the maximum number permitted at a service in a church building determined by the size of the building with social distancing requirements in place. The maximum number permitted at a graveside has been set at 30.
“In our understanding, this was only clarified on Thursday evening/Friday morning when both the Department of Health and NI Direct websites were changed to clarify the situation.”
