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My friend's husband recently passed away and she had him cremated. This happened here in Illinois. When I asked her where the remains were going to be buried she said they were not.
She said she was going to scatter them in Colorado. Her deacon there told her that as long as it was on blessed ground, the remains could be scattered.
Is this correct?
Are there different rules for different dioceses?
I was always under the impression, from my priest, that if a person is cremated, the ashes must be interred, as soon as possible.
Please let me know who is correct.
Thank you,
Anonymous
{
What is permitted when dealing with the remains of a cremated Catholic and do these rules vary? }
Fr. Jonathan replied:
Dear Anonymous,
Cremated remains should be treated with the same respect given to the remains of a human body, and should be buried or entombed. The scattering of cremated remains:
on the sea
on the ground or
keeping them in the home
is not a reverent final disposition that the Church directs. That is the principle.
This is not officially easy to find although most people cite Appendix 2 of the Order of Christian Funerals.
Fr. Jonathan
Mike replied:
Dear Anonymous,
I wasn't able to find a reliable copy of the Order of Christian Funerals on-line but you can probably find one or buy it on Amazon:
I believe Father will probably agree with me that policies will probably vary a bit from diocese to diocese with the local bishop having the final say, so double check with your local diocese.
EWTN has the relevant portions of this document on their website:
Liturgical Norms on Cremation by the Congregation for Divine Worship
— Order of Christian Funerals, Appendix 2, Cremation.
Merry Christmas!
Hope this helps,
Mike
Eric replied:
Dear Anonymous —
The ashes must be respectfully interred.
Eric
Andrew replied:
Dear AAC Team,
When arranging my mother's funeral in New Hampshire, I was told by her pastor that cremated remains may be buried, even buried at sea, but may not be scattered. They should be buried as a whole.
In some times and places, the Church has allowed some exceptions to the usual practice. There are some cases in which a person's body is buried in one place, but some part — perhaps the heart — is buried somewhere else.
Famously, the composer Chopin was buried in France, but his heart is entombed in a church in Warsaw. In Montreal, St. Andre Bessette's heart and his body are entombed separately within the same basilica.
As Christians, we believe in the resurrection of the body. This is part of the last things, which include the last judgment and the end of the world. When a person dies, the soul continues to exist apart from the body and, at the end of the world, God will raise us up again, restoring our souls to our glorified bodies. The world will be transfigured with us into a new creation.
The Church has been cautious for a long time about accepting cremation and scattering of ashes. Both of these are funeral practices that can appear to diminish the identity of the body. There's a reason for this caution. Unbelievers have at times used cremation as a way of expressing their disbelief in the Resurrection of the body.
Therefore the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes the point that cremation is acceptable as long as it does not represent a denial of faith in the Resurrection of the body.
Here are the paragraphs of the Catechism about the disposition of the body:
Respect for the dead.
.
. 2300 The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy; (cf. Tobit 1:16-18) it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.
2301 Autopsies can be morally permitted for legal inquests or scientific research. The free gift of organs after death is legitimate and can be meritorious.
The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body. (cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 1176 § 3)
So cremation has become permitted but I expect that there are probably not many dioceses where the scattering of ashes is allowed.
The funeral service for the deceased is not complete until the burial of the remains, so whether the burial is in Illinois or in Colorado, your friend should contact the local pastor to find out whether she has an obligation to fulfill.
If she needs to arrange for a burial, she can make arrangements at a suitable time for her and her family, and the pastor can check with the diocese to clear up any uncertainty about what is permitted in that place.
I hope this helps.
—Andrew
Anonymous replied:
Mike,
I'd like to thank Fr. Jonathan and all who helped answer my questions.
