Catholic cemeteries offer to bury 300 bodies stacked at morgue

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Updated: February 8, 2012 5:28PM

The Archdiocese of Chicago is offering to pay for up to 300 burials for the bodies being held at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced Wednesday that Roman Szableski, executive director of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago offered to come to the aid of those who couldn’t afford to bury relatives being held at the county’s morgue.

The Catholic Cemeteries has offered the county up to 300 graves.

Dart says recent discussions about the “crisis at the morgue” and its current condition steered the talks with Szableski to what could be done both short term and long term to help address the problems exposed over the last couple weeks.

The offer from Catholic Cemeteries would bear no cost to the county. It would include up to 300 burials to be conducted like any other ordinary, paid burial, the sheriff’s office said. The number of bodies requiring burials will dictate the locations, but some locations include Mount Olivet Cemetery and other local Catholic cemeteries.