Bay Area Catholic Funeral Groups Aid Japan Victims

After the 9.0 earthquake hit Japan in March, followed by the powerful tsunami that swept away entire communities, people around the world were looking for ways to help. After his wife read an article reporting that Japan, with hundreds of bodies washing up on its beaches, had run out of body bags, Bob Mallon found a way.

“We’re in the death and dying business,” said Mallon, chairman of the board of Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services in the Diocese of Oakland. "We can help."

Not only were the Japanese using the body bags to hold the remains of the dead, but some of the survivors were using them to shelter themselves from the elements.
Mallon called Robert Seelig, director of CFCS, and told him, "This is what I want to do."

They asked their colleagues at the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of San Jose if they’d like to help, too. The Diocese of Oakland donated $10,000, San Francisco $2,500, and San Jose $3,000. "This is on behalf of our Catholic community," Mallon said.

Extra Packaging Corp. in Rancho Dominguez offered a significant discount on the purchase of 3,250 body bags, Mallon said.

The more challenging part, however, was how to get these body bags where they were needed. Contacts at more than a dozen government and charitable organizations did not yield a solution.

While Mallon was volunteering at a golf event at Stonebrae in Hayward, he told someone from the Salvation Army of his plight. "We have people over there," Mallon was told. "We can help you."

The project received assistance from Majs. Joe Hoogstad in Oakland and George Polarek in Alexandria, Virginia. Polarek is with the Salvation Army World Services Organization.

In hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture, the police department was responsible for receiving the bags, Mallon learned. The Salvation Army acquired the chief’s name and address. Mallon was prepared to pay the cost of shipping, but the Salvation Army arranged free shipping through UPS.

The task of tending to the dead continues in Japan, where 100 bodies a day are being recovered. According to the National Police Agency of Japan, there were 14,998 dead and 9,761 missing as of May 12.

The Salvation Army made sure the gift was known to be sent by the Catholic Dioceses of the Bay Area.

"They were God’s hands on Earth," Mallon said of the Salvation Army.

Written by Michele Jurich, The Catholic Voice.