Christians are in shock after the Bishop of West Lango Diocese Rt. Rev. Julius Caesar Nina Otim announced a move to put a total ban on holding funerals or send-off prayers for unserious Christians.
The Bishop said this while on a pastoral visit at St. Mark Church of Uganda, Alaro parish in Ibuje Archdeaconry on Sunday.
According to Bishop Otim, there have been several disturbing incidences where funeral services have been conducted believing the deceased were followers of Jesus Christ, only to discover later that they were practicing witchcraft.
He has now directed the catechists to get baptism certificates from bereaved families, as letters to prove that the deceased is a committed Christian attached to a particular Anglican church before conducting funerals.
This has drawn mixed reactions from several Christians. Some say that a number of Christians do not attend church services and do not participate in church-related activities, adding that a move to deny them decent send-off would be a lesson to the living.
Meanwhile, other Christians say it is not in line with the word of God.
