* New Haven Register Editorial 5/7/13

My mother, Barbara Ward Keane, 
with my little brother, Chris, 1948

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

OPINION

EDITORIAL: Offer of gravesite for Boston bomber followed Christian teaching

Published: Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Paul Douglas Keane did the right thing in offering his plot in Hamden’s Mount Carmel Burying Ground to bury the remains of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the accused Boston Marathon bombers.

In doing so, he was following Christian teaching that all people are made in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity, even in death.

Keane, a graduate of Yale Divinity School, said he was speaking up “for the pariah, for the leper, for the hated person — and for the family in despair.” On his blog, The Anti-Yale, he wrote that he was making the offer in memory of his mother, who taught him to “love thine enemy.”

He was referring to Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

This is not one of those easy sayings. Tsarnaev’s actions should be condemned and, if he had lived, he should have faced prosecution, as his brother will. There is no justification for killing and injuring people who were out to cheer on the runners in the marathon.

But for the Christian, each person’s essential humanity, as a child of God, does not change. It’s the same belief that led some churches to ring their bells 28 times for the Newtown slayings, including Adam Lanza, even though he murdered 27 people.

No matter how horrible his actions, Tsarnaev’s body deserves to be buried with respect.

As a commenter on our website pointed out, there were no protests about burying the assassins of President John F. Kennedy or the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Serial killer Michael Ross is buried in Fairfield County, despite murdering eight women.

It would have been better, however, if Keane had made his offer privately, instead of posting it on his blog. He said he wanted to inspire Christians and Americans to self-reflection, but the grave would likely be a target of vandals, causing unnecessary worry to the families of those buried nearby.

It is that concern that lies behind the Worcester, Mass., funeral director’s decision to decline Keane’s offer, and those of many others, in favor of a rural gravesite that would be less likely to be disturbed. He plans to announce the location today. The press conference is unnecessary, although it will be impossible to keep the location secret.

But let his remains lie in obscurity, without bringing more publicity to a man who sought to be remembered for intentionally killing and maiming others.