God Is For The Living Not The Dead---- Catholic Bishop

...Condemns inhuman treatment of widows

The Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese in Enugu State, Professor Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, says that God is for the living, and not of the dead. 
Onah spoke during a service for the Catholic Women's Organisation, 
to honour the female Ambassadors of Mary in the diocese on Saturday, at St Theresa's Cathedral, Nsukka.
His preachings were drawn from St Matthew, Chapter 22 Verses 23 to 32; on  the Sadducees and rising from death. 
According to the teachings, the Sadducees came to Christ and said, "Teacher, Moses said that if a man who no children dies, his brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children. Now, there were seven brothers who used to live here. 
"The eldest got married and died without having children, so he left his widow to his brother. The same thing happened to his second brother; to the third and finally to all seven. Last of all, the woman dies. Now, on the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All of them had married her."
Jesus had answered them that they were wrong, noting that, "When the dead rises to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry..."
However, Onah also, said that death would always be the of man's troubles on earth.
His words, "Death is evil but always the last... The Book of Revelation is not a history book. It is image, parable. The figures are never clearly presented. What we believe is larger than what we read about. Elijah, Moses are two great prophets.Deuteronomy 25: 5.
The Sadducees were apparently referring to the tradition of the people. They believed in continuation of family tree. It's like Afamefuna or Obiechina, in Igbo. It's about fraternal solidarity. .."
Commenting on inhuman treatment of widows, Onah condemned the practices of confiscation of properties of dead men by their male relations from widows, describing it as atrocious, and  urged women not to wear blacks while mourning their husbands as such practices amounted to torture and persecution.
According to him, women are made to wear black attires while mourning their husbands so as not know or feel they were dirty adding that such black attires were 
Instruments of torture and persecution.
He further pointed out that most of the pains suffered by women while moaning their husbands were caused by their fellow women just as he bemoaned lavish burials, pointing out such burials were actually not for the dead but the living.