[supercat]

In 1963, the Catholic Church lifted its prohibition forbidding Catholics to choose cremation. Canon 1176 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states, "The Church earnestly recommends the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed, it does not however, forbid cremation.

I didn't say a body couldn't be cremated after a funeral. Maybe the article I read was a little out of date and they no longer require a body at a funeral mass, but I wouldn't see why they'd change that detail except in cases where the body was destroyed by the cause of death [e.g. in a plane crash].

[shibumi]

My brother died three years ago as a STRICT Catholic. His wife was instructed by the Bishop (a personal friend) to forego cremation until after the funeral Mass was completed. I assumed he did this out of a desire to adhere to Canon Law.