Cremation gains increasing acceptance among Catholics
November 06, 2012
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Nearly five decades after the Vatican first permitted cremation, 20% of Catholic families in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and 40% in the Diocese of Phoenix, are opting for cremation, according to diocesan officials contacted by Catholic World Report.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body.”
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Posted by: WBSM -
Nov. 07, 2012 9:00 AM ET USA
It pains me to observe that so many times this issue is mentioned, the first part of the sentence is omitted: "The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless..." (CIC 1176 §3) It is also noteworthy, that by ecclesiastical funerals the Church honors the bodies of the deceased (CIC 1176 §2). I can't see how with all the confusion of "cremains" being scattered, kept on shelves, baked in cakes the body is being honored.
