Too expensive to die: Kerala reform group wants end to Church monopoly on funerals
கேரளாவில் உள்ள சர்ச்களில் இறந்த கிறிஸ்தவர் பிண உடலை அடக்கம் செய்யும் போது கட்டாயமாக பெரும் தொகை பணம் பறிக்கும் சம்பவங்கள் அதிகரித்து உள்ளன. சர்ச்களில் தனியே இடம் வாங்கி அடக்கம் செய்யலாம். அல்லது சர்ச்களின் பொது மயானத்தில் அடக்கம் செய்யலாம். இந்த இரண்டு முறைகளிலும் பணம் மோசடியாக வசூலிக்கப் படுகிறது. சர்ச்களில், இறுதிச் சடங்குகளை நடத்த, இறந்தவரின் குடும்பத்தினரிடம் இருந்து, சர்ச் கமிட்டி அல்லது பாதிரியார்களோ நிலுவையில் உள்ள பாக்கி மாதாந்திர தொகையை கோருவதாக புகார் எழுந்துள்ளது.
இறுதிச் சடங்குகளின் போது மட்டுமல்ல, சில சர்ச்ங்கள் சர்ச் உறுப்பினர் வீட்டு விழாக்கள் போது நல்ல தொகையைப் பெறுவதற்கான ஒரு கருவியாக பல சடங்குகளைப் பயன்படுத்துகின்றன.
People should realise how churches are milking money from believers in the name of sacraments, says the Joint Christian Council, which has pledged to stand against the payment of huge amounts of money to conduct funerals at churches.
On August 14, at Vanchi Square in Ernakulam, a group of people under the banner of Joint Christian Council (JCC), a reformation movement within the Christian communities of Kerala, took a pledge — they are to stand firmly against the payment of huge amounts of money to conduct funerals at churches. This should be the beginning of a change, the group says, adding that people should realise how churches are milking money from believers in the name of sacraments.
The JCC’s primary focus at present is on the Syro-Malabar Catholic churches, which give believers two options for the burial of their deceased loved ones — one, they can either reserve a space for a family grave where all members of the family can be buried eventually, or two, they can opt for a common space. A huge amount of money will have to be paid to the church to get a family space, while the ‘common space’ is supposedly free of cost. But in some churches across the state, there have been complaints that the church committee, or even the priests in charge, are seeking pending payments from the family of the deceased to conduct the funeral.
Mathew (name changed), a farmer from a hilly town in Kannur district, was strongly displeased by how the vicar at his church treated him after his father’s death a few years ago. But he wanted to stay close to the church and its beliefs, due to which he was unable to criticize that attitude publicly. “Soon after my father’s death, I was informed by the priest that I have to pay my pending monthly offerings to the church. I really did not have any money that time. I had to borrow Rs 12,000 from a friend to pay the church, so that my father’s funeral could be held without any issues. They thought this was the perfect time to get money from me, because they know I can’t risk my father’s burial,” he says.
But Mathew is an ardent believer, and he cannot think of a life outside his church. “I did not tell anybody. I did not question it, because I want my children to get married in church. I want the services of the church,” he adds.
It is not just during funerals, some churches use many sacraments as a tool to get a good sum of money from believers, allege the JCC. Another churchgoer from Idukki had faced a similar situation on the occasion of his housewarming. “I had invited the priest of our parish to bless our new house. But he asked me to pay more than Rs 1 lakh, claiming that my father had some payments (monthly payments and church construction donations) pending towards the church. I did not have that much money, so I decided to conduct the function without the blessing. Finally, when the vicar realised that I would be leaving the church, he said he would come and do the service,” he says.
A priest under the Thalassery diocese tells TNM that as per church rules, the conduction of a funeral in the common cemetery should be free of cost. “These burials are ideal for people who cannot afford a private one. But demanding pending payments at the time of death is completely unethical. It is not a common practice, but there may be some priests who use the sacrament as an opportunity to collect money in this manner. In reality, even monthly payments are not compulsory, and the priests are not allowed to force the believers,” he says.
According to JCC state president Felix J Pulludan, some of the priests, especially in central and southern Kerala, even insist on a long ceremonial sacrament by hiring singers, music bands etc, while conducting funerals. It has also become common for people to hire event management groups for funerals these days, he says. “The expenses for funerals have only been increasing. We have received complaints that even people who cannot afford to arrange long sacraments with music bands are being compelled to do so.”
The church controls the believers by claiming that they can only enter heaven with the help of these holy sacraments by the priests, Felix says. “Hence, at the time of the death of their loved ones, the emotionally vulnerable believers will not take a risk.”
The ‘family grave’ market
Over the years, complaints have also been raised that churches were collecting large amounts of money, often up to Rs 1-2 lakh, to reserve family graveyards usually spread across an area of about 25 square feet. In a village of Kannur district, a church takes Rs 1.15 lakh for a family grave, even though the market price for the land there is just Rs 2 lakh per cent (around 435 square feet). So when the church sells this land, breaking into 25 square feet each, it is earning more than 10 times the market price.
“Besides, these lands are not even allotted to the people as per any legal agreement. They are not registering the land, so they also need not pay tax to the government,” Felix says.
Meanwhile, there have also been complaints that many priests do not allow family members living in different houses to be buried in the same family graveyard. “Usually, a Christian house will consist of the father, mother, their younger son and his family. Other sons and their families will be living in different houses. Because of this, some consider only those people who live in a single house together as a family, and will only allow them to be buried in the family graveyard. But this too depends on the priests. I always allow anybody in the family to get buried in their graveyard, no matter which house they are living in,” the priest under Thalassery diocese said.
Call to use public graveyards
The JCC’s current aim is to spread awareness among the public regarding the need to end the way in which churches take advantage of holy sacraments. The group instead calls upon the people to start using the public graveyards set up by the government.
“People should realise that the spiritual sacraments are not a monopoly of the priests. We should come out of the belief that only a burial in a cemetery can act as an entry point to heaven. Even if we are buried in public graveyards, nothing will change. It is high time we come out of religious slavery,” Felix adds.
However, many believers whom TNM spoke to say they can never opt for such a change. “There may be some priests who are taking advantage of this system. But every system has its flaws. That doesn’t mean that we abandon it. Real believers cannot accept such a change,” says George, a believer and church committee member from Kasaragod district.
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