Every life, even that which lasted only a moment, deserves respect and a dignified farewell. On December 17, over 300 dead children were buried in the cemetery in Podgórki Tyniecki, Cracow. specified ceremonies are co-organised by our association on a regular basis to supply the youngest people with their resting place. Taking care of the worthy burial and graves of children lost is not only an act of mercy towards parents, but besides our work to all life.
“We did the right thing, due to the fact that otherwise we couldn’t do it. The dignity of unborn children and the aid of orphaned parents are issues to which 1 must not go indifferently," says Dr. Piotr Guzdek of the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life, who for years care for the worthy burials of the youngest.
In Krakow, thanks to the support of donors and the engagement of friends from our association, fresh gravestones on collective graves of children were created in Batowice Cemetery. specified initiatives are a consequence to the request for respect and memory so that their short existence is never forgotten.
The importance of specified ceremonies as the law governs them and why we should take care of the graves of the lost children can be read in the article Margaret Bochenek "The defence of Life – It's Our Duty" in Our Journal, which was published on 16 December 2024.
Below we print the full content of the article.
It is our work to bury children who were not allowed to be born alive. next day there will be a ceremony ceremony for over 300 dead children in Tyniecki Cemetery.
– all life is simply a gift, it is sacred no substance how long it lasts on earth. With dignity, the burial in the grave of the bodies of the children of the aborted, deadly born, aborted is inscribed in the building of the civilization of life and love – emphasizes Fr Janusz Kościelniak, pastor of families of children lost to the archdiocese of Kraków. Our interviewer has already presided over respective collective funerals of dead children, which take place erstwhile or twice a year in Krakow. “The kid who dies in the womb is due to various circumstances to be buried, as all man does,” emphasized the priest.
Tomorrow, December 17th, another 1 will be held. 307 dead children born in the University infirmary in Kraków will be buried in the grave from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.
The ceremony ceremony will begin at 9.00 in the chapel at the municipal cemetery in Podgórki Tyniecki (Kraków, Wielogórska street 16). – all specified ceremony is an event which is an expression of designation of the dignity of children who died before birth, as well as a time of common prayer and reflection on the sanctity of human life, due to the fact that always, regardless of its length, it has large value – says the familyologist Dr. Piotr Guzdek of the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life.
Everyone who wants to accompany the youngest on their last way is invited to attend the ceremony. Mass celebrated at the ceremony of children who died during prenatal life or as a consequence of perinatal complications is celebrated in a spirit of thanksgiving for their lives, which, although short on earth, continues in eternity. The priest is so dressed in white ornate during this solemn Eucharist.
The Hope of Salvation
– At each specified ceremony we confess the religion and hope that children who died before birth, whose bodies we goodbye with respect, are among the saved. There is simply a paper of the Church from 2007 "Hope of salvation for the children of the dead without baptism", according to which we hope that these children are already in heaven and, being before God's throne, pray for us," says Fr Janusz Kościelniak.
He besides points to the importance of the participation of lay believers in the ceremony of unborn children. Even if we are not emotionally related to the children active in the burial due to the fact that we do not have a blood bond, our presence is due to a consistent attitude of respect for life from conception to natural death. “This consistent attitude is simply a evidence to the life of all man,” explains our interlocutor.
Every day the priest uses God's Mercy in Kraków-Lagiewniki. all second Friday of the period at 6:00 p.m., he presides over Mass for parents who mourn after the child's death. “Parents have the right to experience mourning besides after a miscarriage and they request it very much, as I see during meetings with them”, adds Fr Janusz Kościelniak. frequently there are situations erstwhile parents who for various reasons did not give funerals to their deceased kid during pregnancy ask for Mass to be able to say goodbye to him.
Legal protection
It is only since 2006 that the bodies of children who died at all phase of pregnancy, thanks to the disposition of the then Minister of Health, are protected by law. The regulations introduced allowed the death certificate to be drawn up and, consequently, the burial of even the smallest children, as long as their bodies or remains were secured, and this work rests on the hospital.
– erstwhile a household burial becomes impossible for various reasons, the municipality is obliged to organize a funeral. However, a collective burial is simply a crisis intervention. The ceremony organized by the household should be first sought – explains Dr. Piotr Guzdek.
However, if the household resigns from this obligation, the work to say goodbye to the children of the deceased as a consequence of the miscarriage, the dead born, as well as the aborted, rests with the municipalities. “And in all Poland the municipalities are fulfilling this obligation,” emphasizes the familylogist. It points out that earlier, before this regulation, the bodies and remains of children, if not taken by the family, were frequently treated as medical waste and as specified disposed.
Care for the graves
The first burials of children who died during the prenatal period in Krakow were held in the cemetery Prądnik Red, called Batowice. A period ago, 8 gravestones were made on this necropolis on the collective graves of children. Gravestones were erected at the initiative of the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life.
– According to estimates in these graves in collective burials organised by the municipality, at least 700 children were laid dead in Kraków hospitals. Individual burials were besides held. Therefore, on the gravestones we placed collective inscriptions, as well as names or only the sex of children whose parents asked for burial in this place," says Dr. Piotr Guzdek.
The dedication of fresh gravestones at Batowice Cemetery is planned for March 25th next year, and so on the celebration of the Annunciation of the Lord and at the same time on the feast of life. At the same time, the diocesan grave of the lost kid will be devoted, created thanks to the Department of Pastoral Services of the Families of the Archdiocese of Krakow. The event planned for the celebration of the Annunciation of the Lord will be included in the celebration of the Jubilee Year in the Kraków Church.
The municipality of Kraków has already completed burials of dead children at Batowice Cemetery. Currently, collective funerals are held on necropolis in Tyniecki Hill.
– Taking care of the graves of dead children is our duty. As the oldest pro-life organization in Krakow, we felt morally obliged to build gravestones. “We behaved properly,” said Dr. Piotr Guzdek.
Margaret Bochenek
