The Hindu : Church to expand cemetery to include `AIDS pit'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 11, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Church to expand cemetery to include `AIDS pit'

By Our Special Correspondent

KOCHI DEC. 10. The parish church which refused to bury the body of an AIDS patient in its cemetery and instead got it buried in a pit in a corner of the church compound is making amends.

Acting quickly to repair the damage the controversy has caused to its reputation, the church is now going to expand the cemetery so that the `AIDS pit' will become part of the cemetery. And, there will no longer be a segregated cemetery for those who die of AIDS-related diseases. The decision to expand the cemetery is said to be on the directive of the senior functionaries of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church.

Fr. George Payapilli, vicar of St. Antony's Church, Elavoor, some 30 km from here, had ten days back refused to bury the body of a 38-year-old man who had died of AIDS-related diseases in the church cemetery. The vicar got the body buried in a pit some distance away from the cemetery. This had shocked the community and created a controversy as it happened on World AIDS Day. (The AIDS Day this year had brought good news to people living with HIV/AIDS in India because of a Central Government initiative to reduce the price of the AIDS drugs). It was also viewed as a telltale instance of how even highly educated people like a Catholic priest held misconceived notions about AIDS.

The archdiocese is taking corrective steps too. Fr. Antony Punnassery, chancellor of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, told The Hindu that the Major Archbishop, Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, would soon issue a detailed circular to all churches on handling AIDS. The circular, to be read in the congregation, would try to raise the faithful's awareness on AIDS, instruct them how to help those living with the virus to lead a life of dignity and how to treat them equally and humanely. It would also ask the priests to give a decent burial to AIDS patients. The archdiocese would not allow any segregated cemetery for AIDS patients.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India, which would be meeting for a week early next month at Thrissur, would take stock of the AIDS issue. The bishops' meeting is likely to issue guidelines to priests on several aspects of HIV/AIDS.

The Elavoor issue has given a boost to the demand that the church insist on an HIV test before it grants permission for marriage to young men and women. A large section of the clergy supports the demand. The Syro-Malabar Church had, a decade back, taken a major step by making it mandatory for all aspiring brides and bridegrooms to take a sex-and-marital counselling course. The course now includes lessons on HIV/AIDS.

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