One of the Catechism we all memorized as young adults is the recitation of the seven corporal works of mercy. We were brought up knowing that they are very important parts of our Christian Faith. The works of mercy, we were taught, “are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbour in his [or her] spiritual and bodily necessities. […]. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.” (N° 2,447).
From my personal experience, the Catholic Church (in my Igbo part of the world) has been doing her best to keep most of these corporal works of mercy. Through her charitable organizations and lay associations, she has always tried to feed the hungry, visit the sick and the imprisoned. She has also always emphasized the importance of clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless. However, from all indications, she seems to have some difficulties burying the dead.
And knowing that, culturally speaking, among the Igbo, very important respect is accorded to human bodies both in life and (more still) in death, one wonders why this very particular corporal work of mercy should be a problem for us Christians. Even in pre-Christian Igbo culture, to bury a deceased, no condition is attached. And when someone dies, the least thing to do is to bury the person, and if he or she is indebted to the community, the family can either pay immediately or promise to pay later. But no matter their financial status, each deceased person among the Igbo, including strangers, has a right to be buried and maybe the family can be dismissed once the person is buried.
Logically, it is comprehensible because, [we say] if we don’t do that, no one will contribute to the Church. But, where is it in the corporal works of mercy that to bury the dead, we ought to ask for money? And if those who do not go to Church respect, this very important corporal work of mercy, what excuse has the Church not to bury her dead? What prevents her from, at least burying them first and if need be refusing them other religious funeral rites?
Are you wondering why a Catholic priest should be asking this type of question online? The answer is simple: if he writes about other social problems, why should he pretend like in his own family there are no problems?
We have to start fighting against institutionalized hypocrisy that cripples our society. And to do that well, we need to begin in our very houses. In Nigeria, it has become endemic and comes in different forms. In the political field, it consists of making every effort not to criticize one’s political affiliation. In the tribal circle, it manifests itself in viewing all that happens within one’s tribe as good and that of the other tribes as awful and abnormal. It also takes place in religious domains, and we observe it in our pretence to act like nothing ever goes wrong within our different religious communities. Each group rightfully observing what is wrong in the neighbour’s house like nothing ever goes awry within our communities.
This double standard is the reason why our society continues to stagnate and fails to indulge herself in a true retrospection necessary for a durable societal evolution and development. And as long as we do not look ourselves directly in the eyes and call our spades, spades, we will keep on living in denial.
So, as Igbo and a Catholic priest, I have made it a duty to examine the problems that go contrary not just to our cultural belief, but also to our core Christian teachings.
