By Colleen Rowan Many Catholic faithful prearrange their funeral plans, and cremation has become the expressed wish of many. To offer guidance—fittingly in November, the Month of the Faithful Departed—The Catholic Spirit offers a look at what the Catholic faithful must know when choosing the option of cremation, and where the Catholic Church stands. In 2016, the Vatican released “Ad resurgendum cum Christo” (“To Rise with Christ”), an instruction “regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation.” While the Catholic Church continues to prefer the presence of the full body at the funeral Mass and its interment, it accepts cremation as an option. The church forbids the scattering of ashes and the growing practice of keeping cremated remains at home, said Cardinal Gerhard Muller, who at the time of the instruction’s release was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in a press conference Oct. 25, 2016 (reported in a story by Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service upon the release of the instruction). The instruction was approved by Pope Francis after consultation with other Vatican offices and with bishops’ conferences and the Eastern churches’ synods of bishops, the story stated. The instruction states that the church insistently recommends that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places: “In memory of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord, the mystery that illumines the Christian meaning of death, burial is above all the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.” Through the practice of burying the dead in cemeteries, in churches or their environs, the instruction states, Christian tradition has upheld the relationship between the living and the dead and has opposed any tendency to minimize, or relegate to the purely private sphere, the event of death and the meaning it has for Christians. The instruction states: “When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority.” “…the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence is not permitted,” the instruction states. “…it is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewelry or other objects,” the instruction states. The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community, the instruction states. “It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten, or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which eventuality is possible, most especially once the immediately subsequent generation has too passed away,” the instruction states. “Also it prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices.” Cremation was prohibited for Catholics until 1963, when the Holy Office, forerunner of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, issued a ruling allowing cremation under certain circumstances. The Code of Canon Law, issued in 1983, said the church earnestly recommends bodily interment but does not prohibit cremation unless it is done for reasons contrary to Christian teaching. Clearance came from Rome allowing U.S. bishops to permit funeral Masses in the presence of cremated remains in 1997. For more information about cremation, one should contact his or her parish priest. To read “Ad resurgendum cum Christo” (“To Rise with Christ”), visit the vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20160815_ad-resurgendum-cum-christo_en.html