Catholic Burial Society

A 42-year-old woman in Manipur has been refused burial for 12 days by her Baptist Christian-dominated village that excommunicated her family seven years ago for allegedly becoming a Catholic Christian.Rita Haorei died on August 7 and her body has been lying since in a Catholic Church in Ukhrul district’s Litan village, 40 kilometres north of state capital Imphal. Her husband Yangmi Haorei, who lives in Litan, has refused to bury her anywhere else other than his native village Leingangching.Leingangching and Litan are both inhabited by the Tangkhuls, a community of Nagas dominant in the Ukhrul district.The stalemate has grabbed statewide attention. On Thursday, a joint action committee (JAC) of Catholics carried out a rally in Manipur capital Imphal demanding the woman’s burial of the woman. The JAC submitted a memorandum to Manipur chief minister N Biren, seeking his help so that Rita could be buried in Leingangching under security. The committee also demanded abolition of an unwritten rural law – that of ‘One Village, One Denomination’ – as “it is inhuman and violates basic fundamental rights”.The Catholic congregation in Ukhrul district too organised a public rally on Wednesday in district headquarters Ukhrul, 84km north of Imphal, against the village diktat disallowing the burial.Similarly, the Delhi-based North East Catholic Community and Tangkhul Christian Fellowship have been critical of the “corpse controversy”. They called for tolerance, peace and harmony while pointing out “parochialism negates the principles of secular, democratic and progressive society”.But the Leingangching village elders are not keen on relenting. “He (Yangmi, the widower) has no right to claim that he is a native of our village because he was excommunicated and banished from our village for violating village norms repeatedly. It is our internal matter and has nothing to do with Christian denominations,” village headman Wungreikhan Kasar said. This is the second death-related controversy in the Northeast this month.F... (Hindustan Times)

She was born September 18, 1923 in Kahoka the daughter of Lewis and Kathie Kirchner Schmid. On July 1, 1949, she was united in marriage to Lawrence Walker in Little Rock, Arkansas. He preceded her in death on July 5, 1973.Marie liked to garden and enjoyed taking the bounty of her garden to the kitchen where canned a variety of things. She enjoyed making quilts and sewing. She was always glad to have company and cooked many meals.She was a member of St. Michael Catholic Church, St. Michael Altar Society and Ladies American Legion.She will be remembered for sending cards and notes, showing how much she cared about family and friends.She is survived by two sisters, Opal Moore of Covington, TX, and Mary Shores of Quincy, sister in law, Darlene Schmid of Kahoka, along with several nieces and nephews.Besides her husband she was also preceded in death by her parents, a sister, Anna Rose Roberts, a brother, Vernon Schmid, three brothers in law, and a nephew, Matt Moore.A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Kahoka. Burial will be in the Kahoka Cemetery.Visitation will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. Monday at the Vigen Memorial Home in Kahoka with the family meeting with friends at that time. A rosary will be recited at 5 p.m. at the funeral home.Memorials may be made to the Kahoka Cemetery or Clark County Nutrition Center.On-line condolences may be made to the family at www.vigenmemorialhome.com... (Nemonews.net)