Hohoe (V/R), Jul. 27, GNA – The Ho Catholic Diocese, has released pastoral guidelines for funerals in the Diocese to reflect the Catholic faith after a careful study of the draft policy.
The approved policy includes the burial of a deceased Catholic, which shall take place within three months from the day of demise.
“Generally, Catholic funerals shall be simple and less costly, private collection of the corpse from the mortuary without funfair, no vigil or wake keeping, and the Celebrant shall ensure simple and short burial Mass or Service not more than two hours.”
Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD, Catholic Bishop of Ho, who signed the circular and sighted by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), disclosed that death for Catholics was a gateway to the beatific vision, where they encountered the Lord face to face and was therefore important that deceased brothers and sisters were offered a quick and honourable passage from the world after their demise.
“As Catholics, we are enjoined by the tenets of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy to bury the dead and pray for the repose of their souls and so we understand that the funeral Mass or Service is an important event in the life of the Church which provides an opportunity to worship God who is the creator, provider and sustainer of life.”
“For some time now, we have been holding discussions about the way we celebrate funerals in Ghana, particularly in the Ho Diocese. In order to know how best to respond to concerns raised, we initiated a dialogue which started from the deanery level.”
The Circular stated that as part of the policy, that there shall be moderate preparations for food and drink, moderate undertaking and decoration respecting the dignity of the deceased person while expensive coffins for burial, expensive brochures and customised or common cloth were highly discouraged.
It said Parishes and Churches shall always liaise with the family or the traditional authorities in fixing dates for burial to avoid conflict and on “no occasion and under no condition shall the Priest or Catechist allow a common burial Mass or Service for a deceased Catholic with other denominational church or churches.”
The Circular admonished all parishioners and Church choirs to attend burial Mass or Service of a deceased member adding that a biography and two selected tributes shall be read after the “Post Communion Prayer” and if there was more than one corpse, the tribute may be reduced to one each depending on the time available while other tributes may be read before the Mass or Service.
It said the first collection during burial Mass or Service was “Offertory for the Church” and the second collection was for the bereaved family or families but if during the burial Mass or Service, more than one deceased body was brought, the second collection shall be shared equally among the bereaved families and must be done on the same day in the church.
The Circular said there shall be “NO Fund Raising” during burial Mass or Service while noting that the payment of arrears of Church dues and levies shall not be a condition for burial.
It said a Catholic Priest or Catechist may conduct a prayer service at the home and graveside of a Protestant or Non-Catholic provided the Protestant Minister or Non-Catholic Pastor cannot be present or the church the deceased belonged to is not in the town or village.
The Circular said a Catholic Priest or Catechist may conduct a prayer service at the home and graveside of a Protestant or Non-Catholic provided the relatives of the deceased or the bereaved family asked for the presence of the Catholic Priest or Catechist.
GNA