Columbarium within a church

Ben Contreras .

A CEMETERY, by any name and design, is still a cemetery. Anyone who wants to put up one needs to consult the people in the area, needs an Environmental Certificate of Compliance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, a national government agency tasked as planning regulatory and quasi-judicial body for land use development and real estate and housing regulation, among others.

Somewhere in Pueblo de Oro, a church is rising with a columbarium within. Has the Catholic Church violated any of these requirements?

Every time I pass by that area, I am awed and wonder what this huge structure is, standing tall like a scarecrow. It’s similar to the one we see in Taguanao whih never saw the light of its completion. Yet, lately, it is almost nearing completion as if everything is being rushed and with great effort exerted to have it done by hook or by crook.

A columbarium is a room or building with niches for funeral urns, a structure of vaults lined with cinerary urns. Buddhists have a practice of putting the names of the dead in carved wooden planks in their temples. These are arranged and placed in designated areas so the families can visit them anytime and offer prayers and food for the dead. Of course, there is a price for that. Nothing comes for free, you know. I don’t know how much but I am pretty sure it’s a lucrative price (business).

Is the Catholic Church taking a cue from the Buddhists? But the Church is more concerned of our spiritual salvation, right? Wrong.  Money still reigns supreme.

Let’s go to cremation. What is the stand of the Catholic Church on cremation? The Canon laws are not absolute. It also changes with time and money considerations. Try to research on it and you will find that the Catholic Church wavers from one belief or rule to another.

The Church is against cremation and later on, it allows Catholics to be cremated but they will not and cannot receive the last Holy sacrament. Much later, probably, the rule mellows further but disallows them to throw the ashes into the winds. The ashes should be placed in an urn and kept at home. That would have been enough but there are better ways to do it: a columbarium.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not anti-Church. I believe in a supreme being up there. I am just against those who preach but do not practice what they preach. There’s been so much hypocrisy that turns off many Catholics. And the Church will never believe that, neither will it care.

“Sticks and stones may hurt my bones but words will never hurt me.” This is the attitude of the Church. No matter how you criticize it for not being what it should be, the Church and many of its soldiers will continue to do what it wants to do come hell or high water. They will assert their misplaced right and invoke the doctrine of the separation of Church and State but insist on meddling in State affairs.

Of course, not all Church people are one in mind on government matters, on morality, on belief, on divorce, on sex, on infidelity, on sins and many more. That’s how divided it is.

The hypocrisy in the Church will go on not because this religion is defective but because the workers of the Church are fallible. And it is very evident here in the city.

Wait for the full story in the coming days!