Church voices serious doubts over scattering human ashes
April 03, 2012: The second Italian-language edition of the "Funeral Rites", produced
by the Vatican Publishing House, was presented recently at the headquarters of Vatican
Radio. Among other things, the new edition contains fully revised biblical texts and
prayers.
The most significant new departure, contained in the appendix of the
book, concerns cremation. Msgr. Lameri explained that the issue of cremation had been
placed in an appendix to highlight the fact that the Church, "although she does not
oppose the cremation of bodies, when not done 'in odium fidei', continues to maintain
that the burial of the dead is more appropriate, that it expresses faith in the resurrection
of the flesh, nourishes the piety of the faithful and favours the recollection and
prayer of relatives and friends".
In exceptional cases the rites normally celebrated
at the cemetery chapel or the tomb may be celebrated at the cremation site, and it
is recommended that the coffin be accompanied to that site. One particularity important
aspect is that “cremation is considered as concluded when the urn is deposited in
the cemetery”.
This is because, although the law does allow ashes to be scattered
in the open or conserved in places other than a cemetery, “such practices … raise
considerable doubts as to their coherence to Christian faith, especially when they
conceal pantheist or naturalistic beliefs”.