The churches in Papua New Guinea are divided over the issue of whether or not to accord dead loved ones a burial or cremation.
Father Victor Roche from the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and the Solomon Islands said although they prefer burial, the church also accepts cremation.
But pastor Peter Dege from the True Church of Jesus Christ disagreed outright, saying there are about 35 Bible scriptures that highlighted burial as a Christian practice.
He said PNG as a Christian nation should not deviate from this tradition.
He also said that Port Moresby, let alone PNG as a whole, has a lot land that can be used as a burial ground.
However, the city authorities disagree. They say Port Moresby is running out of land for burials. There is only one public cemetery in the city and it is fast running out of space.
Nation Capital District Commission (NCDC) chief health surveyor Isoa More, who is in charge of the cemetery, said it was built in the 1960s and is halfway there right now, but sooner or later the 779-hectare land mass will no longer accommodate the dead.
The last patches of available land at the cemetery may be used up within several years.
Already burials are taking up the nearby hills that once were the natural boundaries of the flat area purposely designated for the public cemetery along the Sogeri Road.
In acknowledging the seriousness of the issue, city manager Leslie Alu said in the worse case scenario, the commission would, based on costs, pursue either cremation or keeping bodies in a locker system in a storage facility.
Health Minister, Sir Puka Temu, says cremation must be considered.
He said it was time to discuss whether to provide land or to go against tradition and consider the option of cremation.
“I think those are the issues that we really need to discuss.”
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