Since the earliest times of the church, Christians traditionally have buried the bodies of the faithful departed, in contrast to pagans who normally cremated. As professed in the creed, we believe that at the end of time, Our Lord Jesus will come in glory to judge the living and the dead, and a glorified, resurrected body will be reunited with the souls of the faithful departed. However, the church has permitted cremation in cases of necessity, like times of war or plague, but prohibited it for anyone who wanted to be cremated as a denial of the resurrection of the body (a problem especially in the 19th century).
With the rise of cremation in recent times, the Code of Canon Law (1983) stipulated, “The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed; it does not, however, forbid cremation unless it has been chosen for reasons (that) are contrary to Christian teaching” (No. 1176, 3). Therefore, a person may choose to be cremated if he has the right intention, i.e., that is he is not destroying his body to show he does not believe in the resurrection of the dead.
As a priest, I believe that the entire Catholic funeral liturgy — the vigil service, the funeral Mass and the rite of committal and burial — offers to us a great reminder of our faith and aids in our healing during a time of loss. The regular liturgical prayers and actions are designed to honor the body. Moreover, the body best reminds us of that person who entered a new life at baptism, becoming a “temple of the Lord”; was anointed at confirmation; was nourished with the holy Eucharist; and has now gone, we hope and pray, to the fulfillment of that life and eternal rest. The death of someone we love always is hard to face; nevertheless, we find comfort when we gather as a faith community in the presence of Our Lord and the body of the deceased and offer that loved one back to God. Unfortunately, on more than one occasion, I have dealt with families who have had the deceased loved one cremated, and later regretted the action, even feeling great guilt. I always recommend for people who want to be cremated or want to have their deceased loved one cremated that they do so after the funeral Mass and then inter the remains properly.