(UTV | COLOMBO) – Church has no issue with cremating Catholics who succumb to COVID-19, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Colombo said yesterday.
Head of the social relations unit of the archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Jude Chrishantha has told to a prominent online news portal the Catholic church had allowed cremation since 1960s.
“However, there is a special prayer that needs to be recited when cremating a dead body. There is also a prayer when burying ashes of a cremated body. Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has already instructed Catholics in the archdiocese to abide by the government’s instructions on COVID-19 prevention,” he said.
Recently, UNPer Oshala Herath filed a fundamental rights petition against the cremation of Catholics who succumb to COVID-19.