By Matters India Reporter
Mohana: A Catholic priest in Odisha has apologized for not permitting the burial of Covid victim in the parish cemetery.
“I am sorry and ask apology to the bereaved family for such unfortunate event,” says a message from Father Valentine U Singh, parish priest of St. Peter’s Catholic Church Mohana, one of the oldest and Catholic populated parishes in Berhampur diocese.
Manjula Beero died May 12 at Sitapur Covid Hospital Parlakhemundi in the Gajapati district of the eastern Indian state. She was 63.
The woman’s son Rajnikanth Beero had to bury his mother their house’s backyard after his parish priest refused to bury her in the cemetery. He also faced problems from local villagers.
Father Singh’s message expressed sorrow over Manjula not getting burial in Mohana cemetery. “There was a communication gap between the parish priest, Tehsildar, village elders and the bereaved family,” the priest explained.
After Manjula’s death, her son had approached the Mohana tehsildar (middle level tax officer) for permission to perform the woman’s last rites, as per the Covid protocol.
The son initially could meet his priest for permission to bury his mother in the common Catholic cemetery adjacent to the parish church.
Meanwhile, the head of Ladruma village, Manoranjan Parichha, met the priest along with other villagers to arrange the funeral. The priest allegedly refused to bury the deceased saying the cemetery suffers from land erosion as its soil is sandy.
Parichha, who is also a catechist, then met the tehsildar, who informed him that the villagers had requested him not to bury the woman in the Catholic cemetery as it lacks burial place. Sometimes bones appear when they prepare a new grave.
The Tehsildar then suggested burying the woman in her family’s land, government land or a Covid specified burial ground.
The woman’s son opted to bury his mother in their land, which is slightly away from the house. But local people, mostly Hindus, refused permission to carry the woman’s body through the village. “If your parish priest and Catholic faithful do not permit you to bury in Church owned cemetery we cannot allow you to carry the body through our village,” the son quoted the villagers as telling him.
He then requested the tehsildar to bury his mother in front of his house.
The woman was the widow of a government teacher who died in 2009. He was buried in the Catholic cemetery. Before Manjula’s death, the parish had four other Covid 19 deaths in two weeks. The parish permitted their burial in the cemetery with Covid protocol, the son pointed out.
He said he has no idea why the priest denied permission to bury his mother in the cemetery despite several requests.
“Ultimately after much struggle, we buried her in our backyard. I think as a Catholic Christian my mom had the last right to be buried in a common cemetery. That has not happened,” he told Matters India May 14.
He says being Catholics his family’s “minimum expectation” was to give his mother a decent church burial. “We feel my mom was disrespected by the Church. Can she be given justice and how?” he said and added that no other family should face similar situation in future, “especially in this difficult and tough time.”
I am not satisfied with the report of the reporter. I feel the enquiry of this matter is limited to the messages that I read in different WhatsApp groups. Hope to get more details of the incident that took place in that parish or mohana. You could have given some facts about the incident from the priests/religious/laity if there are in that parish. Thank you.
Thank you Matters India for the news about the death and burial of my mother. I feel disheartened to think about the entire situation.
The message of the Parish Priest is not justifiable. It does not make sense to us. If a women died then she should be buried in the parish cemetery and it is that simple. My elder brother went there to talk to the Parish Priest, the parish priest did not even open the gate for an hour. Then what is here to be “communication gap”? He never even called us once. It is his sheer negligence and lack of pastoral care for his faithful.
We belong to the parish and my father Late Danua Beero who Passed away in 2009 is a Mother Teresa awardee. He was the president (Kendra Behera) for the entire parish during his lifetime.
I would like to request the parish community to form a team to burry the dead as per the Covid Protocol in the parish cemetery. And the Church Of Odisha should come out with proper guidelines about it. While other dioceses do open the church and its infrastructure facility for Covid patients to be accommodated as church organised Covid Centres the church here in Orissa and its priests behave in this manner.
The pastoral care of the priests are not at all satisfactory. Many of them are also found absent during such situations faced by the ordinary faithful. There were instances in Mohana parish the people had to burry the dead without the priests and proper Liturgical guidance.
We would like to know the reaction of Bishop of Berhampur Fr. Dr. Sharat Chandra Nayak. If possible please reach out to him and share his thought.
Anyway I have lost my mother and at least happy that my mother is buried in our house premises. But it has hurt me and my family to a great extent.
Rajnikant Beero
S/O Late Manjula Beero and Late Danua Beero
Betarsing, Mohana
In the seminary or in society when brother (prior to the ordination) is thrown out of there. Then after becoming the priest why not he will be sued and thrown out of the society for the inhuman and non Christian action that’s carried out by that person. We need justice.
“I am sorry and ask apology to the bereaved family for such unfortunate event,” – Holy unholy fool! He’s “ASKing” for an apology!!!
The priest never apologized. Still he urges to the media that he was not approached by anyone for the burial. Also denies that he was aware of this. Then how can this be an apology from the priest. In fact, he is not even sorry for his inhuman action.