Q: I know that the Catholic Church now allows cremation but is burial of the body still preferred or does it matter?
A: For centuries, the practice of cremation was forbidden in the Catholic Church. Cremation was seen as a pagan practice. Also, the Romans would often burn the bodies of Christian martyrs as a way to dispose of the body and, by their thinking, rob these martyrs of their resurrection.
As attitudes about this practice changed and for various pastoral reasons, the Church’s stance on cremation was modified in 1963. Cremation was allowed, but the clear preference was and is still for the burial of the intact body.
The funeral ritual was later modified to allow having the cremated remains present for the funeral liturgy and for the burial or entombment of cremated remains. Even with these pastoral accommodations, the cremated remains are never to be scattered or otherwise separated and should be buried in one place. Burial at sea is also acceptable, again, as long as the body is intact or ashes are not scattered. The most recent document on this topic from the Vatican is a 2016 instruction of the Congregation (now called “Dicastery”) for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Other more recent alternatives regarding a deceased person’s remains, such as “human composting” or alkaline hydrolysis are not acceptable as they fail to show proper respect for the body and leave little or nothing to be interred.
As for the funeral liturgy, if cremation is going to be considered, the ideal would be to have the body present for the funeral Mass and the cremation and burial done later. This shows dignity for the body and, I think, offers some greater closure for friends and family for the funeral rites. Also, instead of purchasing a casket, in this case a casket may be rented for this one-time use. No kidding.
My parents both passed away several years ago after long, full and blessed lives. When they were making their funeral arrangements, my dad, who was a design engineer for John Deere for many years, said he would like a casket in metal, preferably green, as that is the medium he worked in for most of his career. My mother preferred something more natural in wood.
A now famous family story is that when they were shopping for caskets, my mother actually felt the cloth lining of the wooden casket she had selected and said, “Oh, that feels nice and soft.” This elicited a good chuckle from both my dad and my sister. What can I say? My mom liked to be comfortable.
Q: Why must the body (even cremated remains) be buried intact but keeping relics of the saints is acceptable?
A: Great question and timely, as a major relic of St. Jude the Apostle recently visited our diocese. I’ll admit, it seems odd that we allow for the distribution of relics but not the remains (cremated or otherwise) of our loved ones.
I suppose one reason for veneration of relics historically was to promote devotion to the saints. It was a way of drawing attention to the fact that these were real people, not “superheroes” or fairytales. They struggled under all the same limitations as we do yet were able to live heroically holy lives. This gives us great hope and example.
I would also argue that while the bodies of the saints are not always kept intact, certainly their relics are treated with great dignity and reverence, often placed in ornate reliquaries and given places of great honor in churches and altars.
(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)
