ON CREMATION
Cremation is condemned by the Church as being an abominable abuse. Originally the custom of interring the dead in the ground was common to all nations, for the most ancient human remains that have been discovered bear no signs of having been subjected to fire. We know that the Jews buried their dead; Holy Scripture constantly speaks of the burial of kings and prophets. That his corpse should be left unburied was a chastisement threatened to the transgressor (Deut. xxviii.26).
Only during a time of pestilence were the Jews allowed to burn individual corpses (Amos vi. 10). The Romans in earlier times buried their dead. Cicero tells us that their graves were considered as sacred, and the profanation of a tomb was severely punished, even by the loss of a hand. The custom of embalming the dead prevailed among the Egyptians. It is a noteworthy fact that all barbarous nations, who in an uncivilized state burned their dead, substituted the grave of for the funeral pyre as soon as civilization shed its light in their land. Christianity did , in fact, abolish cremation. But in these days, when Christian faith is on the decrease, cremation is once more becoming the fashion.
St. Augustine denounces the practice as horrible and barbarous. It offends our Christian instincts. For we are taught to regard death as a sleep; the dead sleep in Christ (1 Cor. xv. 18), for they will rise again; they are laid to rest in peace, and the idea of the repose they enjoy is connected with the churchyard, not with the crematorium. When we commit our dead to the kindly earth, we tacitly express our belief that our body is like a seed, which is cast into the ground, to germinate and spring up. "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption" (1Cor. xv,42).
No true Christian can fail to shrink from the horrors of cremation; only those who are lost to all sense of the dignity of human nature, to all belief in the truths of religion, can desire it for themselves. Let us remember that Christ, our great Exemplar, was laid in the tomb and rose again. For pagans such considerations naturally have no weight; they disliked the sight of the sepulchral monument, the mound raised over the dead, because it reminded them of death, which would put an end to their earthly enjoyments. For the same reason unbelievers in our own day advocate cremation.
Burial suggests to them too strongly the immortality of the soul, whereas cremation appears to promise the annihilation that they desire as their portion after death. Yet let no one imagine that the Christian dreads the destruction of the body by fire as an impediment to its future resurrection, for God can effect the reintegration of the body after it has been dissolved into gaseous elements.
In the interest of justice destruction of the body by fire is highly reprehensible, since, if a body is buried, it can be afterwards exhumed if this is necessary for the detection of a crime, such as murder. By this means many a murderer has been brought to justice; after cremation this is impossible. Those therefore who speak in favor of cremation befriend criminals, inasmuch as they aid in the removal of all traces of their crime.
Source: The Catechism Explained
DOES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FORBID CREMATION ?
Answered by Fr. Leo Boyle
At no period in the history of Catholicism was the practice of cremation ever adopted or favored in the Catholic Church. From the very beginning, burial of the dead, i.e., inhumation, was an inviolable practice in the Church and she struggled constantly against cremation, a pagan custom often accompanied by rites incompatible with the Catholic Faith.
Under Boniface VIII whoever practiced cremation was excommunicated and the remains even of the corpse were refused Christian burial. With the advent of the French Revolution in 1789 an attempt was made on November 11, 1796 to introduce cremation; it met with no success. It was only as a result of Masonic influence and pressure that in the final quarter of the 19th century the idea of cremation became fashionable and certain governments gave it official recognition.
The campaign was begun in Italy and the first experiments took place in 1872 by Brunetti in Padua, and in April 1873, the Italian Senate gave approval, and, in Milan on January 22, 1876 the first cremations took place. Later in Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and England the practice was legalized.
The Church reacted strongly. Cremation in itself is not intrinsically evil, nor is it repugnant to any Catholic dogma, not even the resurrection of the body for even after cremation God’s almighty Power is in no way impeded. No divine law exists which formally forbids cremation. The practice is, however, in opposition to the constant, unbroken tradition of the Church since its foundation.
Three decrees emanated from the Holy Office:
On May 19, 1886 in answer to two questions posed by the bishops, the Church forbade the joining of cremation societies which were for the most part of Masonic origin and spirit, and it was further condemned to request cremation of one’s own body or the body of another. Some seven months later, December 15, 1886, Pope Leo XIII ratified this document. Catholics who destined their bodies for cremation were deprived of a proper Christian burial.On July 27, 1892, the matter was definitively resolved. Priests were requested not to give such Catholics the last rites; no public funeral Mass could be said."
However, in certain strict circumstances the Church tacitly or even expressly authorizes cremation, e.g., in the case of an epidemic where public health safety is in question.
Unfortunately, however, the document of Pope Paul VI, Piam et constantem, of July 5, 1963, introduced a process of reversal of Church practice. Where it is alleged there is no denial of Catholic doctrine nor contempt for the body, nor hatred of the Faith, cremation is permitted. Hygienic and economic reasons may play a part in this permission.
This paved the way for Canon 1176 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, paragraph 3, in which cremation is permitted though burial is earnestly recommended, but it is only the recommendation of a pious custom. Funeral rites are forbidden for those who have chosen cremation for reason contrary to the Christian Faith (canon 1184, §1.2º). It is also forbidden to scatter the ashes or to have them in your home; they must be buried or placed in a vault in a cemetery.
What should be our attitude, as faithful Catholics, to this change of legislation? The liberalization of the law forbidding cremation is without a doubt a concession to the ever increasing influence of Freemasons and those who refuse the belief in the resurrection of the body. We have now, more than ever before, the obligation of professing our Faith in this important article of the Creed, for it is precisely by opposition to the doctrine of the resurrection of the body that this custom has become commonplace.
Consequently we must adhere to the constant tradition of the Church, which numbers the burial of the dead as one of the corporal works of mercy, so great must be our respect for the body, "the temple of the Holy Ghost" (I Cor. 6:19). We should neither ask for cremation, nor permit it for our relatives nor attend any religious services associated with it [on this last point, the pastor should be consulted about cases where cremation was chosen out of ignorance of Church teaching—Ed]. This is precisely what the traditional (1917) Code of Canon Law prescribes:
If a person has in any way ordered that his body be cremated, it is illicit to obey such instructions; and if such a provision occur in a contract, last testament or in any document whatsoever, it is to be disregarded. (canon 1203, §2)."
It is likewise stated "those who give orders that their body be cremated" are amongst those who "must be refused ecclesiastical burial" (canon 1240, §1, 5º).
