Vatican: Proper Disposition = Cemetery
In 2016, the Vatican published a directive, reminding Catholics that while cremation is an acceptable choice, there are still some limitations. Family members are to bury the remains in a “cemetery or other sacred place.” The directive noted that placement in a cemetery is vital to ensure that the person is remembered and prayed for by the Christian community at-large. Specifically, the Vatican forbade scattering the ashes in any way, or having the ashes preserved in any kind of memorial piece. The directive based the premise for this guidance on an effort to avoid “every appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism.” The instruction was intended to serve as a clarification of the changing policies of the Roman Catholic Church concerning the disposition of human remains. The Vatican claims that remains must be kept sacred, and buried whole if at all possible. Although the church permits cremation for certain social, sanitary or economic reasons, it still leans heavily on the faithful to opt for a traditional church burial. The idea of scattering ashes at sea or keeping them in cremation jewelry falls far outside the original reasons that the Church allowed cremation in the first place. The Vatican continues to argue this so it should be obvious to Catholics that these kind of activities would not be allowed.
No Room at the Cemetery
Catholicism’s Conflicting Choices With Cremation
The awkwardness and inconsistency in the way that the Roman Catholic Church represents the act of cremation is not exactly new. In the 19th Century, the Church banned cremation as a viable choice for the faithful departed. Explicitly denying Last Rites to anyone who said they intended to be cremated. This policy changed in 1963, when the Church acknowledged that there were certain circumstances in which cremation might be acceptable. People who could not afford a traditional burial could be permitted to choose cremation, as long as they recognized that the body would rise during the Resurrection. For over 30 years, families who wished to have a Catholic burial for their loved ones were required to have funeral rites performed prior to cremation. In 1997, this policy was revised to permit certain funeral rites with cremated remains. The Church retains a strong preference for traditional burial ceremonies, but no longer denied a Catholic burial to those who had already been cremated. As long as the family could assure that their loved one only chose cremation for reasons compatible with Catholic dogma, they could have funeral and burial rites according to Church traditions.
An Impossible Situation for Families
This arms-length tolerance of cremation has the great potential to put families in a situation that is difficult or even impossible. Virtually anyone given the task of handling the final rest of a relative has an invested interest in ensuring that this person receives their proper due. The vast majority of the time, families want to honor a loved one’s wishes, and guarantee a good afterlife in accordance with their religious affiliation.
When Canon Becomes a Crisis
In heavily-populated regions where Catholic tradition is strong, the pressure to avoid cremation and opt for burial in a cemetery is creating crises for government officials. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Mexico City. Nearly 9 in 10 Mexican residents claim Catholicism as their religion. With a population of about 9 million and a metropolitan area of 21 million, Mexico City is packed tighter than any other metropolitan area in the Western hemisphere. Mexico City officials and religious authorities are trying to encourage cremation to limit families’ expenses of handling a loved one’s remains, and to take the pressure off already overcrowded cemeteries and crypts. The Roman Catholic Church’s assertion that cremated remains must be placed in a cemetery is creating a difficult situation for any faithful Catholic person who simply cannot get access to one. In some areas, Mexico City included, some people cannot find space in a cemetery, columbarium or crypt. No matter how much they are willing to pay. In turn, they end up keeping a loved one’s ashes at home, because a Church-sanctioned burial or placement of the ashes is literally not an option.
They may draw the Church’s anger and go against its policies through no fault of their own. The final disposition of a person’s earthly remains is an intensely personal and highly contentious subject, particularly within Catholicism. Many families decide to place a loved one’s ashes in an urn to keep at home, when the purchase of space in a cemetery is too expensive or merely unavailable. By blaming faulty beliefs for people’s decision not to place ashes in a cemetery, the Vatican may make choices even more difficult for families struggling to follow their religious teachings in a world that increasingly cannot accommodate them.