Saturday After Ash Wednesday
March 8, 2014

Prayer:

Almighty ever-living God, look with compassion on our weakness and ensure us your
protection by stretching forth the right hand of your majesty.

Scripture:

I do not wish the sinner to die, says the Lord, but to turn to me and live. (Ezekiel 33)


Question of the Day:


What is the Church’s position on cremation? If it is allowed, can my ashes be scattered over the river or could I have them buried in my back yard?

To answer your first question, we turn our attention to canon 1176, § 3, which states:"The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burial be retained; but it does not forbid cremation, unless this is chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching."

Prior to Vatican II and the renewal of Church liturgy, cremation was not very common place, especially in this part of the world. Since the mid-1960's, cremation has become more popular in many North American areas. Although the custom of burying the dead remains the preferred one in the Church, cremation is allowed, except for reasons which are contrary to the teachings of the Church. One could mention here, using cremation as a way to try and disprove the resurrection of the dead. In this situation, cremation would be seriously frowned upon. It must be kept in mind, that there are many ways of disposing of the remains of the deceased and cremation is one of those ways. The Liturgy Commission of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared and made available a brochure on the subject of cremation and associated matters. This is available on their web site at http://www.cccb-publi-cecc.com.
The answer to the second part of your question is a bit more complicated. Although I can find nothing in the law preventing ashes being scattered or buried in a place not designated for such purposes - some common sense needs to prevail here. There seemed to be some confusion on this whole matter earlier over the disposal of the cremated remains of John F. Kennedy Jr, his wife and his sister-in-law and many others. A little chat with a grief counsellor may be helpful, before you decide on scattering ashes over water-ways of any kind or burial of ashes in your backyard or anyone else’s. A decision made hastily in this situation may be regretted some years later.

Please Note:

If you have any questions for the canonist, please send an email to canonist1998@gmail.com  and your question will be answered.