DISPARITY IN CATHOLIC CEMETERY

"Leave the dead to bury their dead; it is for thee to go out and proclaim God's kingdom." (Luke 9:60)
Jesus Christ tells that there is nothing in the remnant of the human body after the departure of life from it. It is worth for nothing, so the dead will bury their dead.

Galatians 3:28 further clarifies equality in Christianity. "No more Jew or Gentile, no more slave and free man, no more male and female;  you are all one person in Jesus Christ."

Both these verses from the Holy Book denote Christian out look on man, either living or dead. However, this equality cannot be maintained anywhere in the world by any religion. The big and the small are appropriately placed, therefore, in Christianity too. It becomes extreme when this disparity is dragged to the cemetery after death. The dead body of the rich is placed in a rich tomb and the poor in a poor tomb. The rich tomb is decorated with precious marbles while the body of the poor is heaped with earth. The place for the tomb is bought by rich families of the church they belong to for a price around a million rupees. The prices are varying at different churches.

There are also Catholic Churches in Kerala which do not recognise this 'high rated tomb syndrome.' The Metropolitan Church of the Archdiocese of Changanacherry is an exception. There is no family tomb in the cemetery of this church. A few tombs are digged out on a daily basis  and according to the number of deaths on that day, those are alloted. No family and no status preference. An exemplary system which can be followed by all Catholic Churches in Kerala/India. By doing so we can atleast maintain a parity in the lifeless human bodies as suggested in the Holy Book.

KV George
kvgeorgein@gmail.com