Catholics and Cremation - Not too fast!

In 2020, I posted a review of Scott Hahn's  Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body:

This book seems tantamount to Scott Hahn's extended reflection on the Vatican's 2016 "Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation [link added]," which makes abundantly clear that burial remains the preferred treatment for the bodies of the deceased. The Vatican reminds us that "the practice of cremation has notably increased in many countries, but simultaneously new ideas contrary to the Church’s faith have also become widespread....the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has deemed opportune the publication of a new Instruction, with the intention of underlining the doctrinal and pastoral reasons for the preference of the burial of the remains of the faithful and to set out norms pertaining to the conservation of ashes in the case of cremation." 

Cavalier mistreatment of human bodies can only thrive where there is a failure to understand that God wants each and every one of us - each soul AND BODY with Him forever in Heaven. Yet as Hahn notes right in his introduction: "Most of us don’t really believe in the resurrection of the body. Or we struggle to believe it....we don’t treat our bodies like sacred temples that belong in the heavenly courts." So many of us are failing to appreciate the grandeur of the human body and its destiny!

This past December, the Vatican again addressed cremation.

1) In paragraph 5 of the Instruction “Ad resurgendum cum Christo: Regarding the Burial of the Deceased and the Conservation of the Ashes in the Case of Cremation”, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 15 August 2016, the Congregation addresses the question of preserving ashes in special urns. It states that ashes must be kept in a sacred place, such as a cemetery, or in an area dedicated to this purpose, provided that it has been so designated by the ecclesiastical authority.

Pastoral reasons for this regulation are also given: “The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community. It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten, or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which eventuality is possible, most especially once the immediately subsequent generation has too passed away. Also it prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices” (par. 5). This regulation still retains all its validity.

2) Our faith tells us that we will be raised with the same bodily identity, which is material (like every creature on earth), even though that matter will be transfigured, freed from the limitations of this world. The resurrection will be “in this flesh in which we now live” (Formula “Fides Damasi”); in this way, any harmful dualism between the material and immaterial is avoided.

This transformation, however, does not imply the recuperation of the identical particles of matter that once formed the human being’s body. Therefore, the body of the resurrected person will not necessarily consist of the same elements that it had before it died. Since it is not a simple revivification of the corpse, the resurrection can occur even if the body has been totally destroyed or dispersed. This helps us understand why, in many cinerary urns, the ashes of the deceased are conserved together and are not stored separately.

3) The ashes of the deceased person, moreover, come from the material remains that were part of the person’s historical journey—so much so that the Church shows particular care and devotion concerning the relics of the saints. This attention and remembrance also leads us to have an attitude of sacred respect toward the ashes of the deceased, which we conserve in a sacred place suitable for prayer, sometimes located near the churches visited by the family and neighbors of the deceased.

4) Therefore:

A) For the reasons listed above, a defined and permanent sacred place can be set aside for the commingled accumulation and preservation of the ashes of deceased baptized persons, indicating the identity of each person so as not to lose the memory of their names.

B) In addition, the ecclesiastical authority, in compliance with current civil normAs, may consider and evaluate a request by a family to preserve in an appropriate way a minimal part of the ashes of their relative in a place of significance for the history of the deceased person, provided that every type of pantheistic, naturalistic, or nihilistic misunderstanding is ruled out and also provided that the ashes of the deceased are kept in a sacred place.