Cemetary question

[CRW]

My wife (BonnieBj) wanted to post this question, but I’m hogging the phone line , so I’ll post it for her.

She read in the book Catholic Replies that Catholics must be buried in a Catholic cemetary, if there is one available. Is this true?

DaveBj

Rev. Mark J. Gantley, JCL, EWTN Questions/Answers:

There is no strict requirement of being buried in a Catholic cemetery, whether one is cremated or having full body burial done. If a burial takes place in a public or other non- Catholic cemetery, the grave should be blessed.

 

[cameron_lansing]

. . . lawful in what sense and to whom?

But the big question is: is it OK with the Church if we are buried in the family plot which is in a Methodist church cemetery.

Dave and Bonnie Bj —

In context, “lawful” simply means that a law of the Church that obliges a person or persons has been observed and not violated, or that an obligation to observe a certain law was dispensed from by a competent authority of the Church. A law can be a universal one that binds all Catholics, or a particular law, for example, one that binds only those Catholics belonging to a certain diocese.

The dead are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Church anymore, so a particular law regarding the place of interment would bind those persons making the funeral arrangements and only if they were Catholic (since ecclesiastical law only binds Catholics according to canon 11). We can safely assume it would also bind the cleric or authorized “lay minister” conducting the rites of committal, etc.

There is no universal law regulating the place of burial. It reads that “everyone, unless prohibited by law, is permitted to choose a particular cemetery for burial” (c. 1180 §2).

But a diocesan bishop could establish a particular law about this, which would bind the Catholics of his diocese (c. 12). (There are some variations about how particular law obliges travelers in a diocese or binds those subject to a diocesan bishop but outside of his diocese, but these are probably not relevant to this situation.)

However, if there were such a particular law, either the diocesan bishop or a local ordinary (for example, the vicar general) could dispense from it (cc. 87§1 and 88) whenever this relaxation of the law would contribute to the spiritual good of the faithful.

I would tend to think that a grave in a non Catholic cemetery would not have been blessed already, but the Prayer over the Place of Committal contains options for such a blessing.

I would be surprised if there were a particular law governing and prohibiting interment in a non Catholic cemetery. But you can and should check with the parish priest about such a law, if any, and its scope. However, I would also think it likely that the diocesan bishop or local ordinary would be inclined to grant a dispensation under the circumstances.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

I just thought I’d share something vaguely relevant to this topic as a matter of fraternal charity. My seventh-grade English teacher made us memorize certain sentences which helped us to remember commonly-misspelled words, and the one germane to this thread is: “Life in a cemetery is all ease” (all “e’s,” as in cemetery). I bet I’m going to get buried for this post!

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

I did my homework recently. I can die…be shipped to a funeral home…choose to be embalmed or not…depending on whether I want a wake…and then go directly into a plot in a Catholic cemetary. An appropriate casket and marker are necessary.
Bing Bang Boom
No priest, no Mass, no formal prayers

As a recent planner of funeral rites, yes, that’s right.

Not only that, but the 3 parts of the funeral rites can be split apart, or none of them had at all. The Vigil (wake) can be held, but not the Funeral Mass or Rite of Committal. And the Rite of Committal can be held without the other two parts, or nothing. And a Memorial Mass (a Funeral Mass needs remains) can be had at a much later date than the burial that doesn’t need the Rite of Committal.

Really- the funeral rites are the most flexible in the Church.

But if you love your friends and family, have the luncheon.

My father-in-law’s body rests in a national veteran cemetery. Many of my family are buried in a private, but non-Catholic cemetery.

Me? If nobody’s sold it, I’d like to go to St. Boniface on N. Clark and Lawrence.

 

[Veritas41]

My mother, who returned to the Church two years before her death, wanted to be buried in a non-Catholic cemetery where her parens and other family members were buried. She had a full funeral Mass and we had a Catholic burial service at the graveside. The priest blessed the ground she was buried in.

 

[DaveBj]

I just thought I’d share something vaguely relevant to this topic as a matter of fraternal charity. My seventh-grade English teacher made us memorize certain sentences which helped us to remember commonly-misspelled words, and the one germane to this thread is: “Life in a cemetery is all ease” (all “e’s,” as in cemetery). I bet I’m going to get buried for this post!

The language geek is hiding his face in shame.

DaveBj