Catholic World News News Feature

Bishops' Committee On Liturgy Suggests Approval Of Cremation June 07, 1996

WASHINGTON, DC (CWN) - The Committee on the Liturgy for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops will propose that cremation for deceased Catholics be allowed throughout the United States, according to a statement released on Thursday.

The committee will present a proposal at the bishops' spring meeting to be held in Portland, Oregon, June 20-22, that the episcopal conference petition the Vatican for permission to allow the practice. Three diocese in the United States and the Church in Canada have already received such permission.

According to Monsignor Alan Detscher, director of the Secretariat for the Liturgy, objections that cremation interferes with the bodily resurrection on Judgment Day are outdated. "If the Lord can resurrect a body, he can certainly get all the parts back together again," he said.

Cremation was forbidden in the Church until 1963, when the practice was allowed if necessary as long as cremation was not chosen as a sign denying belief in the resurrection of the dead. However, there is a clear preference for burying the body in a grave as Jesus was, or at least for people who choose cremation to wait until after the funeral Mass, the bishops said.

"Christians are unequivocally confronted by this mystery of life and death when faced with the presence of the body of one who has died. That body forcefully brings to mind our belief that our human bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and destined for future glory at the resurrection of the dead," the bishops said. "In addition, the body which lies in death recalls the personal story of faith, the past relationships and the continued spiritual presence of the deceased persons."

The bishops also said the remains must be treated with respect and buried in a grave or entombed in mausoleum, and not scattered in the air or water or stored casually in someone's home.