From a pastoral point of view, these norms are clear and understandable. However, as a pastor, I must say that I have growing concerns over practices that are appearing with the more widespread use of cremation.
The norms clearly indicate that cremated remains are not to be scattered, divided, or retained in the homes of the faithful on fireplace mantles, on shelves, or in other places. But these norms are somewhat difficult to enforce.
The problem emerges essentially from the detachment of the funeral Mass from interment. When cremation is chosen, it is common for the funeral Mass to be celebrated quickly but the burial to be scheduled at some “later date” when arrangements can be more conveniently made. Frequently clergy are told that the family will “call back” at some point in the future. But often these calls never come and burials are put off indefinitely.
Issues such as money, logistics, and family disputes are often factors in the delay.
Priests, too, are often busy and do not have time to follow up to see if “Uncle Joe” is ready for burial now. As such, many deceased remain unburied for weeks, months, or years, or perhaps never even buried at all.
I was shocked a couple of years ago to discover that a certain Catholic family still had the cremated remains of an uncle on the top shelf of their closet. The delay centered around who in the family was going to pay for the burial lot and debates about whether burial was even necessary at all. Perhaps the ashes could just be scattered out in the woods.
Without the urgency to bury the dead, the burial is often given little regard. - Finish reading here.
Terry Nelson says:March 19, 2015 at 11:07 amExcellent article Father. I wasn’t aware of the variety of developments such as making jewelry with the cremains – as I have heard them referred to. I knew you could make a diamond out of them or send them into space. You suggested fragmentation of the ashes was “ghoulishness and (in) bad taste”. However, since you brought it up, many people regard the collection and veneration of relics, which from ancient times included bodies and body parts, (St. Catherine’s head), bone fragments, and so on to be ghoulish as well. (I don’t – but a lot of people seem to – esp. non-Catholics.)
My point is, I think some people may have that practice in mind when making a diamond out of mom or attempting to keep the ashes.
In Latin countries, the practice of wearing relics or relicarios is a very old tradition. In fact the theca or pendant which holds the relics have a loop to facilitate wearing the relic around the neck. So as ghoulish as it may seem, cremains in a locket may not be all that strange.
Thanks for presenting clear Catholic teaching on the subject however. Your posts are very helpful.
God bless!
Sidestepping orders from the Vatican, Medjugorje “visionary” hosts “apparition” in private home in Missouri ...Deacon Kandra links to the story from Te Deum Laudamus blog:
Ivan Dragicevic thumbs nose at CDF; holds public apparition in private home.Diane calls it 'justification gymnastics' - read more here. I think she hits the nail on the head with her commentary, especially the following:
It was a publicly held event, promoting the alleged apparitions of Medjugorje, in a private residence. That’s the only thing that is private – the house.
If Ivan Dragičević has his ‘apparition’ in a room by himself, then that is truly private. There is no one around to be influenced in such a way that, “promotes the so-called visionaries of Medjugorje and in particular Mr. Ivan Dragičević.” But, there is nothing private about Ivan having an ‘apparition’ in a residence with 10, 25, 75 or 175 people watching – people he does not know, mind you. It’s simply a public event, or meeting, held at a private residence. It promoted the Medjugorje phenomena to everyone in attendance. - Finish here.These mystical events seem to get stranger and stranger, the continuous justification by visionaries and locutionists and their defenders to circumvent authority seems especially problematic for any hope of approval from Church officials. It just seems to add to the confusion faithful Catholics are experiencing in the Church these days.
On Monday, six children (now adults) raised by same-sex parents in the United States wrote a letter supporting the designers, thanking them for speaking up for the rights of children to both a mother and a father.
“Every human being has a mother and a father, and to cut either from a child’s life is to rob the child of dignity, humanity, and equality,” the letter reads.
The signers said Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who are openly gay, expressed what they’ve learned through their own life experience, which is that while gay parents can be very loving, children are best supported when raised by a mother and a father.
Even though some of the signers are themselves gay, they all raise their children with their opposite-sex parents.
“We know that gay parents can be loving, since we loved our parents and they loved us,” they wrote.Ed. note:
“Nonetheless, we have all had firsthand experience with the harsh backlash that follows when the dominant view of ‘gay parenting’ as universally positive is questioned.” - Finish reading here.
I saw water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple...
This sprinkler system in alcoves near our back doorways was installed approximately two years ago, after learning from city resources that this kind of system was being commonly used in the Financial District, as a safety, security and cleanliness measure to avoid the situation where needles, feces and other dangerous items were regularly being left in these hidden doorways. The problem was particularly dangerous because students and elderly people regularly pass these locations on their way to school and mass every day. When the system was installed,after other ideas were tried and failed, the people who were regularly sleeping in those doorways were informed in advance that the sprinklers were being installed. The idea was not to remove those persons, but to encourage them to relocate to other areas of the Cathedral, which are protected and safer. The purpose was to make the Cathedral grounds as well as the homeless people who happen to be on those grounds safer. We are sorry that our intentions have been misunderstood and recognize that the method used was ill-conceived. It actually has had the opposite effect from what it was intended to do, and for this we are very sorry. We have also now learned that the system in the first place required a permit and may violate San Francisco water-use laws, and the work to remove this system has already started, and will be completed by the end of the day. - Read the entire statement here.Works for me.
I doubt the Archbishop was even aware of the matter. In my archdiocese the Rector is pretty much in charge of operations at the Cathedral - the Archbishop here doesn't reside at the Cathedral rectory - I don't know the situation in San Francisco.
I have a feeling this is traceable to the city and it's treatment of the homeless as well as possible insurance issues, not to mention sanitation problems. It won't surprise me if Archbishop C initiates a new program or means to care for the homeless who choose the cathedral as a place to spend the night.
I would bet the Archbishop was as surprised as anybody by this story. It will be cleared up in a jiffy - I'm sure. Sadly, the enemies of Cordileone will run with the story because of his stance on Catholic education and faith and morals. - Me
“The pastoral care of persons with homosexual tendencies poses new challenges today, due to the manner in which their rights are proposed in society. How can the Christian community give pastoral attention to families with persons with homosexual tendencies? What are the responses that, in light of cultural sensitivities, are considered to be most appropriate?”
"A man - a woman – who feels sick in the soul, sad, who made many mistakes in life, at a certain time feels that the waters are moving - the Holy Spirit is moving something - or they hear a word or ... 'Ah, I want to go!' ... And they gather up their courage and go. And how many times in Christian communities today will they find closed doors! 'But you cannot, no, you cannot [come in]. You have sinned and you cannot [come in]. If you want to come, come to Mass on Sunday, but that’s it – that’s all you can do.’ So, what the Holy Spirit creates in the hearts of people, those Christians with their ‘doctors of the law’ mentality, destroy ".
Jesus welcomes [all]. But not only does He welcome, He goes out to see people just as He went out to find this man. And if people are hurt, what does Jesus do? Scold them because they are hurt? No, He comes and He carries them on His shoulders. And this is called mercy. And when God rebukes his people - 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice!' – He’s talking about this. "
"Who are you,” the Pope continues, “ who shut the door of your heart to a man, a woman, who wants to improve, to return within the people of God - because the Holy Spirit has stirred his or her heart?" - Pope Francis
By the mystery of the Incarnation,
he has led the human race that walked in darkness
into the radiance of faith
and has brought those born
in slavery to ancient sin
through the waters of regeneration
to make them your adopted children. - Preface:The Man Born Blind; IV Sunday Lent
I believed in God. - Communion Antiphon
Fitzmaurice echoes every other gay-Catholic activist complaining about the Catechism and how teaching is worded ... Really? These people are probably the most well educated lay-Catholics in history, and yet they do not get what the Catechism clearly states? How is that?ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Catholic Church “acts unjustly” toward gay and lesbian Catholics, who are “held to different standards than other Catholics,” a situation “harming” the Church — and one that must change.That was the message delivered Friday at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress by Arthur Fitzmaurice, an advocate for making the Church more welcoming for gay and lesbian Catholics.His talk, delivered to 800 catechists and religious educators during an official Church event, comes during renewed clashes between Catholics who hold the line on the Church’s teaching on issues of sexuality, and those who support same-sex marriage and other gay rights. - Crux
It is all so very frustrating. Fitzmaurice works for the archdiocese as resource director of the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry and he teaches that people are born gay, as demonstrated in what he said this weekend:Fitzmaurice, resource director of the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry, said he, like many gay Catholics, has turned at various points in his life to Church writings for guidance, including the Catechism of the Catholic Church.The paragraph on homosexuality — which describes it as “intrinsically disordered” while also demanding respect for gays and lesbians — is placed in a section of the catechism paragraphs condemning “pornography, prostitution, and rape,” he said.“To keep this abusive language in the Catechism and other Church writings is, in itself, gravely evil,” he said. - Read the entire article here.
He referenced recent high-profile firings of gay Church employees — such as a church musician in Chicago and a vice principal in Seattle — and said those episodes “reinforce the false message that being born LGBTQ is shameful.” - Fitzmaurice
One participant in the gay and lesbian workshop told the crowd that he is drawn to being a catechist because he wants “to change the mindset” of Catholics who are opposed to homosexuality.“You cannot be gay in a Mexican family, because they will say so much stuff to you that hurts you,” Anthony Marquez, a high school senior, told participants. “But what hurt me most was my confirmation teacher who told me it was a disease. I want to be a catechist so badly because I want to change that mindset. It’s not a disease. We can be good Catholics, even if we’re gay.” - Crux
In an interview with Panorama magazine, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the two men whose business partnership—and one-time romantic partnership—lies behind one of the world's great fashion powerhouses, have declared that “The only family is the traditional one.”“The family is not a fad,” Gabbana told the interviewer. “In it there is a supernatural sense of belonging.”Procreation “must be an act of love.” Children born through artificial insemination or egg donors are “children of chemistry, synthetic children. Uteruses for rent, semen chosen from a catalog,” Dolce said.“The only family is the traditional one. No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow; there are things that should not be changed.”Domenico and Stefano were for years perhaps the globe's most prominent gay power couple. In the tightly knit, family-based, quasi-aristocratic world of Italian fashion, these two men came from nowhere to make a name for themselves that the whole world would recognize. In a 2005 New Yorkerarticle, John Seabrook marveled at their success:Unlike the Guccis, Pradas, Puccis, Zegnas, Ferragamos, and Fendis, Dolce and Gabbana do not come from families with long pedigrees in the production and sale of luxury goods. . . . They began as outsiders, with their noses pressed to the windows of the fashion world. Their business and their distinctive style are based not so much on family history and artisanal traditions as on their relationship with each other. And the only reason that Dolce and Gabbana are creative and business partners at all is that they were romantic partners first. - Finish reading here.
Already the new interview has prompted opposition, with the website LGBT News Italia calling for a boycott like the one launched against Barilla pasta after its chairman made similar comments. - First ThingsI'm against it. Boycotts and gay marriage and adoption.
