(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) In what could be called a revolutionary decision a Catholic Church based in the south Indian of Kerala has decided to permit its members spread across India and in many foreign countries to cremate the their dead relatives.The Syro-Malabar Church the most powerful of the three Catholic rites has given the authority to permit cremation of the dead body instead of the traditional burial to the bishops heading the dioceses.
The decision was taken at the Synod of the bishops held at the church headquarters at Kakkanad in Cochin.
The synod has also decided to stop the practice of busying bishops in the sanctuary of churches. The deceased bishops and metropolitans will now be laid to rest in the crypt (an underground burial place in churches) or at the chapel attached to the cemetery.
A spokesman of the Church said that the decision was taken to maintain the sanctity of the sanctuaries. Fr. Paul Thelakkattu said there was a feeling among faithful that they should not be used as a burial place.
The spokesman said the synod had permitted cremation of the faithful due to space crunch in the existing graveyards and non-availability of land for building new ones. Fr. Paul said that the bodies would be cremated only in accordance with the Christian practice of offering prayers for the deceased.
The church used to permit cremation of dead bodies until now under extra-ordinary circumstances. The power in this regard was vested with the Major Archbishop who heads the Church. The synod has now delegated it to the bishops.
The synod has vested the bishops with powers to sanction cremation if relatives of the deceased requested for it. Fr. Paul said if a person wants cremation he or his family members can approach their local diocese bishop for permission.
He said the decision was not meant to popularise cremation but to simplify the procedure. For more news from Khaleej Times follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes and on Twitter at khaleejtimes Follow khaleejtimes ->
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