[ad_1]
From: TT
Published:
Photograph: Gorm Kallestad / NTB / TT
Several advisory bodies require exemptions from the ceiling for eight people at funerals. Stock Photography.
All county boards of trustees now support the Church of Sweden’s requirement that an exception be made to the eight-person rule at funerals.
On Friday, the government is expected to make a decision on the issue.
The Västmanland County Administrative Board has compiled a joint consultation response after anchoring itself with other county administrative boards. They think, like the Church of Sweden, the Christian Council of Sweden and the Agency for Support of Religious Communities, that 20 people should be allowed to participate in funeral ceremonies.
They write that the exception is justified “on the basis that it is a matter that cannot be postponed, either emotionally or on the basis of applicable law or religious belief.”
Impossible choices
The option to follow funerals digitally, which has become common during the pandemic, is not addressed in the responses to the query. But Cristina Grenholm, who is a church secretary in the Church of Sweden office and works closely with the archbishop, says more has been broadcast from funerals during the pandemic than before.
– Everyone wants to be there, but since today’s families can be scattered across multiple countries, digital funerals are one way to keep participating. I cannot say that it replaces the physical presence at a funeral, but it does replace the absence. The most important thing is to be able to fire the deceased with dignity, he says.
Holding funerals outside in custom wreath-friendly outdoor chapels, or in tents, is another option.
– It is an opportunity, but you cannot be more than allowed outdoors and we have the climate and the season that we have. It is much more difficult to be outdoors in winter, although it is possible. The churches do everything they can to fix this, says Cristina Grenholm.
The government is expected to make a decision on the issue on Friday.
Request an exemption
As of November 24, when the participation restriction will come into force, and within four weeks, 7,000 funerals are planned and the Church of Sweden, the Swedish Christian Council and the Agency for the Support of Religious Communities believe that they can be carried out .
In their responses to the query, they demand that the government make an exception, since it is important that people can say goodbye to their deceased as close relatives with dignity.
The Church of Sweden and the Swedish Christian Council, since the government’s decision to limit the number of people in public gatherings, where funerals are counted, have received many desperate reactions from mourners who are faced with impossible decisions when it comes to limit who can attend the funeral.
Published:
