The Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, His Lordship Most Reverend Paulinus Ezeokafor, says since he started the campaign against extravagant spending at burials, nobody has opposed his idea. Rather, he noted, people had been sending their appreciation to him for breaking what he described as a pagan yoke imposed on Christians which he said, had made some people engaged in all forms of criminal acts just to keep up with the trend.
It will be recalled that not too long ago, Ezeokafor directed priests and relithisgious leaders in the diocese to refrain from engaging in expensive burials in order to curb the trend of extravagant burials currently ravaging society.
Several months after the directive, the bishop has expressed happiness that it had not been challenged.
‘All I am getting is commendation upon commendation. No form of opposition at all,’ he said Ezeokafor, who stated this while interacting with newsmen yesterday at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Awka, questioned the rationale behind going to borrow to conduct burial ceremonies, saying that the only aspect of the burial that the dead benefited from was the prayers said arby the faithful on their behalf during the Eucharistic celebration.
The Catholic prelate decried what he identified as the pagan practice of ostentatious burial ceremonies that left the bereaved more burdened after burying their dead.
‘Though Christians believe that our bodies, being the temple of the Holy Spirit, should be treated with respect, the feasts that accompany burials in relithis part of the world are uncalled for.
‘The culture of giving out souvenirs and wearing Aso Ebi was borrowed from the Yoruba culture and contradict the Biblical description of how a burial should be,’ he concluded.
The bishop revealed that he had started correcting the error with the Catholic clergy in Awka Diocese, saying that after the burial, the clergy disperse immediately without burdening the bereaved with demands of refreshment and souvenirs.
Bishop Ezeokafor hoped with time, the laity would adopt the practice fully and bring a halt to ostentatious burial ceremonies.
