The Church has always held a preference for corporeal burial. The body of a deceased loved one forcefully brings to mind the mystery of life and death and our belief that our human bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and destined for future glory at the resurrection of the dead. 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 person.

This is the body once washed in baptism, anointed with the oil of salvation, and fed with the bread of life. This is the body whose hands clothed the poor and embraced the sorrowing. The human body is so inextricably associated with the human person that it is hard to think of a human person apart from his or her body. Thus, the Church’s reverence and care for the body grows out of a reverence and concern for the person whom the Church now commends to the care of God.

Cremation is an alternative to corporeal burial. As cremation is chosen more frequently, there are many who are unaware of the Church’s teachings regarding this practice. The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, and the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport and the final disposition.

The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the church requires. The order of Christian Funerals reflects a theology and a tradition in which burial of the body has been the principal manner of final disposition of the body. The long standing practice of burying the body of the deceased in a grave or tomb as was Jesus, continues to be encouraged as a sign of Christian faith.