ALSIP, Ill., July 19 (UPI) -- A multi-denominational religious ritual may be needed if unidentified bodies unearthed at a Chicago-area cemetery are reburied in a common grave, experts say.
The human remains -- allegedly dug up and carelessly cast away for profit by the proprietors of Burr Oak Cemetery -- may never be identified, and Cook County, Ill., officials have suggested they may have to be reburied in a common grave. If so, a burial rite would have to include elements of African-American Protestant, Roman Catholic, Muslim and Jewish traditions, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.
"There is a fundamental basic desire that the dead are properly disposed of and that you're able to put them in a place that's sanctified, preserved and meaningful," Gary Laderman, a professor of religion at Emory University in Atlanta, told the newspaper. "When you're not allowed to do that, it's wrenching."
"In African-American tradition it's extremely important to recognize the dead and be named in this way," added Suzanne Smith, a professor at George Mason University.
The newspaper said the Jewish kaddish, a Muslim funerary prayer and a recitation of the names of the deceased in the African-American tradition could all be part of a reburial ceremony.
| Additional News Stories | |
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) --
John Allen Muhammad, the so-called D.C. Sniper, died by lethal injection at a Virginia prison at 9:11 p.m. Tuesday, a prison official said.
|
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 10 (UPI) --
Lead singer Steven Tyler does not intend to quit the rock group Aerosmith, contrary to rumors claiming he already has, sources told The Hollywood Reporter.
|