Cremation, the unforbidden

By Herbert Vego

A news report quoted Pope Leo XIV speaking on cremation in a homily.

“Cremation is permitted,” he said, “but the ashes must be treated with reverence and dignity. Ashes should be placed in a sacred place in a cemetery or columbarium.”

It’s a reiteration of a Vatican decree authorized by his predecessor, Pope Francis, in keeping with the Bible verse (Genesis 3:19), “Dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Unknown to today’s young Catholics, however, it was way back in 1963 when Pope John XXIII officially lifted the prohibition on cremation through the document Piam et Constantem.

However, scattering or keeping the ashes after cremation are “un-Christian,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano, rector of EDSA Shrine and spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Manila.

“We believe as Catholics that even the remains of those who passed away should be respected,” he said.

Being non-Catholics, however, we allowed the urn containing the ashes of my late brother Efren, who died in 2014, to be kept by his wife Amparo at their home.

Long before he breathed his last due to multiple organ failure, my brother had expressed his wish to undergo cremation. He knew that what would take centuries for the flesh and bones to completely turn into dust could be short-cut by the crematory burner within three hours.

In fact, a number of Catholic celebrities have expressed outrage over the papal decree. Actress Whoopi Goldberg, who played a nun in Sister Act, has hollered on TV, “You can’t dictate to people what is sacred”.

Goldberg’s mother had been cremated and her ashes scattered “all over the house.”

The Church has unmasked its own wishy-washy behavior vis-à-vis the disposal of human cadavers. She used to forbid cremation. In fact, in 1917, the Code of Canon law banned Church funeral for the cremated.

In 1963, the Vatican lifted the prohibition against cremation but did not encourage the practice. It was only in 1983 when the revised Canon law explicitly allowed cremation as second choice of final disposition for dead Catholics.

The history of cremation dates as far back as 25 BC in Rome. The crude way then called for burning the remains over ignited firewood.

In the process of modern-day cremation, the deceased (with all garments and jewelry removed) is placed into the cremation chamber lined with fire-resistant bricks. Next, the chamber door is closed to initiate the burning process at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. After the cremated remains are cooled, they are swept from the chamber and placed on a work area. Bone fragments are placed into a cylindrical processor and further crushed into small, uniform fragments. The cremated remains, weighing between four and 10 pounds, are placed in an urn selected by the family.

As practiced in the Philippines, the ashes in the urn may be buried in a cemetery, placed in a niche within a mausoleum or columbarium, scattered at sea or private property, or retained at home.

The proponents of early crematories were Protestant clergymen concerned with hazardous health conditions around cemeteries.

There are religions that practice cremation as a preferred means of final disposition over burial. The Hindus and Buddhists have all been embracing cremation for centuries in firm belief that it’s the soul, not the body, that survives death in a different form.

It’s only the Muslims and Orthodox Jews who cannot be cremated because they believe that the body is “sacred”.

However, another Jewish group who call themselves “Reformed Jews” practice cremation; and the taboo seems to have been lifted as they are the fastest growing group now choosing cremation as a means of final disposition.