Hyderabad: While many of their brethren in the West have adopted the culture, Roman Catholics in India have still not taken to the cremation culture.
Cremating the earthly remains and burying the ashes saves 80 per cent space. The practice is followed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments in the West, though other Christian churches like Protestants, Pentecost etc. are yet to adapt the culture.
Back home, since the Narayanguda common graveyard (Catholics and Protestants) ran out of space, the community follows the “niche shelve” process wherein the bones, after the body decomposes, are removed and placed in shelves.
A 295-page document ‘Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy’, dealing with the practice of Christian life and religiosity, was presented by Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez at the Vatican.
More than reasons of hygiene and land limitations, theological awareness clarifies that the cremation of bodies is not necessarily a denial of Christian dogma, even if Western tradition favored “inhumation” or ground burial for its biblical roots and traditional symbolism.
The change in the Church’s stance towards the practice of cremation serves as a recognition of other traditions and reflects the present trend in Western countries, the congregation’s document says.
It clearly states that there is no contradiction between the practice of cremating the body and the belief in Resurrection. However, the document recommends that the ashes be buried or kept in a repository.
Cardinal Medina also said that he did not see any problem in scattering the ashes at sea or mountains if that had been the wish of the deceased. The Church now allows final religious rites for the dead at the place of cremation
Vicar general of Hyderabad diocese, Father Swarna Bernard said, “Cremation is the latest approval from the Vatican. But it would take years to educate Catholics in India on this culture. Catholics bury the dead in belief that Jesus was laid in the tomb for three days and resurrected on the third day — celebrated as Easter Sunday. They follow this tradition, which is followed by the 3rd or 5th or 10th or 40th day ceremony. However, in the West, they just offer holy Mass for the departed soul.”
Vice-president of the Bhoiguda Cemetery Hosey Tocher said, “There are combined and separate graveyards in Hyderabad. Sadly there is no land for converted Christians unless the church is willing, recently a converted Christian from Secunderabad purchased private land on the city’s outskirt for Rs 15,000 for burial. “Presently at the Narayanguda graveyard, niche shelves are made so that the bones can be kept there to save space. The community is also fighting for a one-acre land for a cemetery at Begumpet – Shamlal Building.”
