Cremation

[Jacafamala]

From a traditional Catholic viewpoint, I’m wondering what people think about cremation. My husband and I both have it in our wills to be cremated, but I’m considering asking him to change this. I don’t know, it just seems so disrespectful.

What do you all think?

 

[Geremia]

What do you all think?

I would not.

 

[Phemie]

I think cremation is fine and don’t think there is anything disrespectful unless it’s done to deny the Faith.

As long as the ashes are interred or placed in a columbarium the Church has no problem with cremation. It would prefer that the body be present for the funeral and cremated afterwards but it will celebrate a Funeral Mass in the presence of cremated remains.

 

[Katie1723]

My father was cremated and when my mother dies, she will be too. And she specified that their ashes wil be mixed as they spent the better part of their lives together, why not spend eternity together too.
Kathy

 

[Tantum_ergo]

While cremation was forbidden to Catholics until relatively recently, under the proper circumstances it is permitted.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1. . .The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body.93

93: 93 Cf. CIC, can. 1176 § 3.

Code of Canon Law:

TITLE III.
ECCLESIASTICAL FUNERALS (Cann. 1176 - 1185)
Can. 1176 §1. Deceased members of the Christian faithful must be given ecclesiastical funerals according to the norm of law.
§2. Ecclesiastical funerals, by which the Church seeks spiritual support for the deceased, honors their bodies, and at the same time brings the solace of hope to the living, must be celebrated according to the norm of the liturgical laws.
§3. The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless, the Church does not prohibit cremation unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.

 

[Dempsey1919]

Cremation is now permitted. However, this goes against traditional and long standing Catholic custom. A Catholic should be buried in my opinion (although I have no issues with cremation if that is what a person truly desires).

You should remember that your body will be ressurected and glorified when the Redeemer comes again. For this reason, you should treat your body, and the bodies of your loved ones with respect.

When you die, you are not discarding a shell. Your body still belongs to you, even though your soul will no longer be with it. You will be reunited with your body at the end of time; this is why you should treat it with respect.

Remember, cremation is traditionally a pagan practice. Others have also been deliberately cremated to show that they did not believe in the ressurection of the body.

Also, Our Lord and his Saints were buried. They were not cremated. By being buried, you are imitating the Lord and his Saints.

If you choose to be cremated, I would recommend that you still place your remains in consecrated ground. Do not scatter your ashes.

Burial is the traditional Catholic practice. Cremation is pagan in origin. I would choose to be buried. Notice that the Church does not encourage cremation but simply allows it. However, the Church has actively encouraged the faithful to be buried.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Cremation is now permitted. However, this goes against traditional and long standing Catholic custom. A Catholic should be buried in my opinion (although I have no issues with cremation if that is what a person truly desires).

You should remember that your body will be ressurected and glorified when the Redeemer comes again. For this reason, you should treat your body, and the bodies of your loved ones with respect.

When you die, you are not discarding a shell. Your body still belongs to you, even though your soul will no longer be with it. You will be reunited with your body at the end of time; this is why you should treat it with respect.

Remember, cremation is traditionally a pagan practice. Others have also been deliberately cremated to show that they did not believe in the ressurection of the body.

Also, Our Lord and his Saints were buried. They were not cremated. By being buried, you are imitating the Lord and his Saints.

If you choose to be cremated, I would recommend that you still place your remains in consecrated ground. Do not scatter your ashes.

Burial is the traditional Catholic practice. Cremation is pagan in origin. I would choose to be buried. Notice that the Church does not encourage cremation but simply allows it. However, the Church has actively encouraged the faithful to be buried.

The question of cremation is a question of a discipline, not of an immutable truth. The Church may, and has, changed her policy on this, and may change it further in the future (composing rites specific to cremation, for example).

The God Who created the world *ex nihilo, *the God Who knit us together in our mothers’ wombs out of our parents’ DNA, can certainly resurect us out of ashes. The question of “respect” is a totally relative one. When I was in college, we had a mortician come and speak to a health class I was taking. He was reticent about telling us what the process for preparation for burial and viewing was, but we genuinely wanted to know and he was apparently convinced that we did, because he told us…in great detail. I will not relate what he said in this thread, because I think it would bother people to know these things. I have a problem contemplating burial anyway, as I’m a bit claustraphobic (yes, I know I’ll be dead, but still), but at that time, I remember thinking that being reduced to nice, clean ash sounded infinitely preferable. Respect for a body could not possibly be encompassed by what that gentleman described. Of course, we don’t HAVE to be embalmed or viewed, etc., but if one is to BE viewed by one’s family, embalming is somewhat necessary (if not actually kind). I fail to see what is inherently disrespectful about cremation.

Our Lord and the saints (excluding Saint Jeanne d’Arc, obviously, and the saints burned at the stake) were buried because that was what the societies of which they were a part did. The practice of cremation is not ontollogically pagan, it’s just one of the customs that some pagans practiced. Others had other traditions surrounding their dead.

I have directed that I be cremated. I included this note in my instructions:

"To the Rev. Priest Who Shall Read This,
Dear and Rev. Father:

I am the only Catholic in my family. My family members will need assistance in preparing for my funeral and the attendent rituals. I thank you now for your willingness to help them and I will remember you in my prayers, should I come, by His Grace, into the Presence of the Holy One.

I have elected to be cremated. In compliance with Code of Canon Law promulgated for the Church in 1983 by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, I certify to you that this desire for cremation is in no way a denial of the physical resurection of the body as taught by the Church nor is it a denial or repudiation of any other teaching of the Church. As I desire to look upon the Face of the Lord Jesus, so do I believe that He is able to raise my body from its cremains to stand before Him. I would very much like the urn containing my cremains to be present in the church for my requiem Mass. The urn should then be buried in my family’s plot in Forney, Texas. The ground will need to be consecrated."

 

[Dempsey1919]

The question of cremation is a question of a discipline, not of an immutable truth. The Church may, and has, changed her policy on this, and may change it further in the future (composing rites specific to cremation, for example).

The Church has permitted cremation, but this practice has not been encouraged. Burial, on the other hand, continues to be encouraged as the normal way for dealing with the body of a deceased loved one:

The Code of Canon Law 1983:
Can. 1176 §3

Source: vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4A.HTM

The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless, the Church does not prohibit cremation unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.

I have used the italics to emphasise the fact that the Church earnestly recommends burial, as opposed to cremation.

Even though cremation is now permitted, I would imagine that all traditional Catholics would opt to be buried as this is the traditional practice.

 

[Joysong]

I think the choice for cremation is a good one for families who cannot afford the tremendous cost of today’s funerals. Not everyone has life insurance, and it should not be a great financial burden for the family to assume the expense.

My husband requested cremation with no viewing, but since some of the close family members had not seen him at the time of his death, I opted to have a one-hour viewing for family only. The cost of enbalming and preparation was very expensive. In addition, I had to “rent” a casket which was also very costly, and pay for the use of the funeral home for the hour. If you can believe this, the bill was slightly over $5,000. The charge to transport him to the crematory was $250. In my wildest imagination, I cannot figure out why this was so exorbitant for a 20-minute drive, unless gas is worth $100 per gallon, and the salary of the driver was $50/hour. Do you see the picture?

The only benefit that kept the bill down was the opening of the grave for $75 compared to the large hole needed for a casket, and the plot had been purchased several years earlier.

Here is a small sampling of the price:

Transfer of remains to funeral home $280. [Additional fee of $200 if the body is picked up at an airport.]

Preparation of remains: enbalming $750, cosmetology and grooming $245. [Clothing was brought to the funeral director to dress him for viewing, otherwise, there’s an additional expense]

Hearse to transport to the church $200, each flower vehicle $55, limosine for family $195.

No need to detail the myriad of incidental expenses, such as holy cards, death notice in the paper, certified copies of death certificate, clergy honorarium, organist, etc.

Caskets range from $600 to $7585.

An average funeral today is at least $10,000. I think you can quickly see why so many opt for cremation. In the words of a noted spiritual author, one may wisely exercise spiritual frugality in this matter, and be called virtuous.

 

[Joysong]

I forgot to mention the extra expense for a grave headstone $1,878. So if we add that in together with the cost of the grave plot itself, we are looking at $8,000. For the sake of loved ones who needed closure, though, I would still go for the expense of the 1-hour viewing and enbalming.

It may interest some that this is an approved practice in the church … either to bring the body to the church for a funeral mass and cremate it afterwards, or have a memorial mass [without the cremains] a week or so later. But as you can see, the first option is very expensive. You only save on the cost of the casket, but you still have to rent one if you bring the body to church.

 

[secular]

i am a seven day catholic, and because of my financhial situation i had no other choice but to have my father cremated.,the cost of funnerals is so high, over 5ooo dollars.i am on a veterans pencion with no other income so i had no alternative but to go ahead with the process.thank you i hope this doesn`t affend anyone.

 

[Jacafamala]

i am a seven day catholic, and because of my financhial situation i had no other choice but to have my father cremated.,the cost of funnerals is so high, over 5ooo dollars.i am on a veterans pencion with no other income so i had no alternative but to go ahead with the process.thank you i hope this doesn`t affend anyone.

No, it doesn’t offend me at all.

Death is a big racket. And for what? I’m thinking it would be smarter if everyone still had their wakes in the living room. Forget embalming. Forget the funeral home. It’s all too expensive and wasteful. I’m sure my husband would think I’m crazy, but really it’s the way it should be. And lots of rosaries said and not all of the small talk that typically goes on at wakes. Oh, I can’t stand all that small talk; like it’s some kind of bizarre cocktail party we’re at…ha!

 

[jeanannemarie]

I could be wrong, but somewhere along the line I heard that since cremation is becoming so popular, so as to save money, the cost of it is rising now. It is all about business and money, isn’t it? So perhaps the cheaper alternative won’t last too long. If everyone elects to go the more inexpensive route, the funeral homes will be losing money. Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[puzzleannie]

From a traditional Catholic viewpoint, I’m wondering what people think about cremation. My husband and I both have it in our wills to be cremated, but I’m considering asking him to change this. I don’t know, it just seems so disrespectful.

What do you all think?

if you think it is disrespectful don’t do it, because it is only acceptable if it does not signify a basic disrespect for the human body, or a disbelief in the resurrection of the body

in any case, your will may not even be opened until you are dead and buried, so whatever arrangements you want made, let a trusted family member know about them beforehand.

 

[Jacafamala]

I could be wrong, but somewhere along the line I heard that since cremation is becoming so popular, so as to save money, the cost of it is rising now. It is all about business and money, isn’t it? So perhaps the cheaper alternative won’t last too long. If everyone elects to go the more inexpensive route, the funeral homes will be losing money. Just my thoughts on the subject.

Yes, they are all crooks.

 

[peary]

From a traditional Catholic viewpoint, I’m wondering what people think about cremation. My husband and I both have it in our wills to be cremated, but I’m considering asking him to change this. I don’t know, it just seems so disrespectful.

What do you all think?

**I have mixed feelings about cremation. Nowadays, it seems to be based more on economics than anything else. Wakes and funerals are incredibly expensive, and they need not be. The Church used to be against cremation because it was used against belief in our resurrection. Also, cremation interferes in the natural process of decomposition and can be interpreted as being against the biblical understanding of “From dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.” Not only is the body burned to ash unnaturally, but the bones are then ground up in a blender-like machine so that they can fit into the urn.

Of course, this probably does not mean that this will interfere in any way with our resurrection at the end of the world but it’s still worth bringing up these points to think about.**

 

[rjs1]

This is what Canon Law says:

The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless, the Church does not prohibit cremation unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.

I find this typical of much in the post Vatican II Church. It recommends one thing yet also permits something not as good.

There is no question that historically the Catholic Church opposed cremation as a pagan practice which was done to specifically deny the resurrection of the body. Hence in India cremation is the norm because of the belief in reincarnation.

I once read a pamphlet written by a Protestant which absolutely condemned cremation because of its association with pagan religions and their denial of life after death and resurection which we Christians believe in.

I suspect that one day Rome will reverse the historically recent permission for cremation and again insist on burial.

 

[Fox]

You may be cremated. The Church has authorised it. I see it as speeding up the process, you’ll turn to ash anyways. If people wanted to be really technical, then people shouldn’t be buried embalmed or in metal coffins then. It should be au natural then. Besides you’ll get a new and better body at the end. What does the priest say when you get your ashes on Ash Wednesday? nuff said.

 

[peary]

You may be cremated. The Church has authorised it. I see it as speeding up the process, you’ll turn to ash anyways. If people wanted to be really technical, then people shouldn’t be buried embalmed or in metal coffins then. It should be au natural then. Besides you’ll get a new and better body at the end. What does the priest say when you get your ashes on Ash Wednesday? nuff said.

The natural decomposition of the body does not turn it to ash. Ash is the byproduct of fire. The bible says ‘dust’ - of the earth, as from what Adam was created. There’s a big difference.

 

[Methodi]

No, it doesn’t offend me at all.

Death is a big racket. And for what? I’m thinking it would be smarter if everyone still had their wakes in the living room. Forget embalming. Forget the funeral home. It’s all too expensive and wasteful. I’m sure my husband would think I’m crazy, but really it’s the way it should be. And lots of rosaries said and not all of the small talk that typically goes on at wakes. Oh, I can’t stand all that small talk; like it’s some kind of bizarre cocktail party we’re at…ha!

You are so right, a lot of wakes turn into parties with the people forgetting why they are there, & It is a big racket!