St. Dominic Catholic Church

Pastor's Corner

July 22, 2018

This past week I had a horrible experience at a funeral out of state.  How bad could it be?  The police were called twice, by two different parties!

There were two reasons for this fiasco: mental illness and a lack of understanding and acceptance of Catholic Church teaching regarding the treatment of cremains (human ashes).  One family member wanted to spread the ashes in a lake because, “dad liked to fish.”  Another wanted ashes to put in a cross they might wear around their neck.

I have dealt with parishioners who have had similar requests, along with the request to keep ashes in their home.  I want to make clear the Catholic teaching on the subject:

HUMAN CREMAINS (ashes) MUST BE BURIED IN A CEMETERY OR PLACED IN A COLUMBARIUM IN A CEMETERY!

The 2016 Vatican instruction, To Rise with Christ,explains this teaching:

1) Burying the dead is a corporal work of mercy mirroring the burial of Christ that more clearly expresses hope in the resurrection when the person’s body and soul will be reunited.

2) The human person is not trash, and an anonymous scattering of ashes “is not compatible with Christian faith. The name, the person, the concrete identity of the person” is important because God created each individual and calls each individual to Himself.

3) Burial in a tomb or urn in a public space is an expression of the communion of saints, the unending unity of all the baptized, living and dead.  Other believers have a right to pray at the tomb of deceased Catholics, especially on All Souls.

4) While keeping ashes at home may be a sign of love and grief, it neglects the reality that the loved one belonged to the entire community of faith, not just the bereaved.  It also prevents a lack of respect being shown the cremains when the people closes to the deceased also die.

Cremation has accepted by the Catholic Church since 1983, but you can’t do anything you want with the ashes!