I stand corrected!
We are not to rise without identity or in spirit only, as part of some “group consciousness,” but still each one beloved as an individual person and with a glorified body. Therefore, reverence for the body which the virtue of hope teaches us will rise again and our duty to witness to our sure hope in the resurrection requires that the remains of the dead not be scattered or dispersed without just cause. Obviously, a manner of death which scatters the remains of the deceased cannot be helped. Furthermore, it would be permitted, for instance, to donate body parts to science, rather than burying them with the rest of the physical remains, provided there is a commensurate good achieved and the portion of the remains not interred with the rest of the body are treated with respect. It is not that it is beyond the power of God to resurrect a body whose remains were scattered. It is that the ritual of scattering or the attitude that scattering makes no difference does not give the body that is to be raised again the respect it ought to be given. Cremation once carried such a strong connection with bluntly public disbelief that the body would truly rise again that it was forbidden in the Catholic Church until 1963. The rule was relaxed because cremation no longer carried that connotation.
from funeral policies for the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (boldface mine):
*What are the accepted means of laying the deceased to rest?
Summary: Canons 1176 §3 and 1180:
The Church maintains and earnestly recommends that the members of the faithful
observe the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased.
However, the Church also holds cremation as an option and
does not prohibit its
practice unless it is chosen for purposes that are contrary to the Christian faith,
such as:
a)
the deceased or those responsible for his or her burial have no belief in
the resurrection;
b) the choice is based on a sectarian spirit;
c) there is a hatred of the Catholic religion or the Church.
It would be most proper that, if a parish has its own cemetery, deceased members
of the faithful of that parish should be buried in it, unless the deceased or those
given charge of his or her burial arrangements have legitimately chosen another
cemetery for the final burial.
The “Appendix” of the Order of Christian Funerals adds: “The cremated remains
should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The
practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground,
or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend of the deceased
are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires. Whenever possible,
appropriate means for recording with dignity the memory of the deceased should
be adopted, such as a plaque or stone which records the name of the deceased”
#417. *
This is what Canon 1180 literally says:
*
Can. 1180 §1. If a parish has its own cemetery, the deceased members of the faithful must be buried in it unless the deceased or those competent to take care of the burial of the deceased have chosen another cemetery legitimately.
**§2. *
Everyone, however, is permitted to choose the cemetery of burial unless prohibited by law.