Catholic Church Suspends Corpses At Funeral Mass

As part of the measures to check the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, the Catholic diocese of Makurdi has barred its members from bringing the corpses of dead relatives to churches for funeral mass.

The dioceses says it would only allow a corpse when a death certificate issued by relevant medical authorities has been produces, otherwise, deceased members should be buried.

This directive was made in a statement by the Director of Communications in the diocese, Moses Iorapuu, on behalf of the Bishop of the diocese, Athanissius Usu, in Makurdi on Saturday.

An announcement was also made on the changes in two activities during the mass, including the mode of administering the Holy Communion.

According to the statement, parishioners will henceforth be served the Eucharistic feast on their hands as against the practice of putting it on their tongue by the priest. Also, it said, the exchange of the sign of peace, involving handshakes has been replaced with other suitable gestures to avoid the possibilities of contacting the Ebola virus.

Priests were also advised to be cautious while carrying out pastoral visitations to hospitals, seek doctor’s permission before touching sick people with undisclosed illnesses.

Group prayer sessions that involved touching and praying over unknown sicknesses have also been prohibited.