Posted on 01/17/2007 9:02:36 AM PST by NYer
Despite the Catholic Church's preference for burial, the Metuchen Diocese will break ground today on the first crematory in the United States to be built by a diocese.
Diocesan officials say the crematory, at Holy Cross Burial Park on the borders of East and South Brunswick, will open by year's end.
Within the last decade, more and more Catholics have opted for cremation, reflecting an overall trend in American society. The increase has come as more Catholics have become aware of the change in church law, according to theologians and funeral directors.
After forbidding cremation for centuries, the church began allowing it for Catholics in 1963, while maintaining a strong preference for burial.
"This is what's happening today. This is the reality. It is the wave of the future," said Bishop Paul Bootkoski of the Metuchen Diocese, which has 600,000 Catholics in Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex and Warren counties. "We're going along with what our Catholic population is looking for."
Cremation rates in the United States have risen from 20 percent to 30 percent since the mid-1990s, according to the Cremation Association of North America. The association projects that by 2025, the rate will be 50 percent.
Government statistics do not count by religion, but Russell Demkovitz, director of cemeteries for the Metuchen Diocese, said more than 100 funerals at Holy Cross last year were for people cremated at New Jersey's approximately 30 existing crematoria. He estimated that 15 percent of Catholics across the state were cremated last year.
The diocese's decision to build a crematory came about because of this increased demand, and because money from cremations -- after the crematory is paid off several years from now -- can help support the cemetery, Demkovitz said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Q. Can Catholics Be Cremated? A. The practice of burying the body goes back to early Christian times. For centuries cremation was expressly forbidden in the Church because of the belief that the body is the temple of the Holy Sprit, as well as the belief in the resurrection of the body. Cremation was seen as a pagan practice that denied the doctrine of the Resurrection In 1963, the Vatican lifted the ban on cremation for Catholics. In doing so, the Church allowed cremation in certain circumstances provided the reasons for choosing it did not counter Christian belief. However, no allowances were made for any prayer or rituals to be used with the cremated remains. This meant all funeral services were to occur in the presence of the body, with cremation taking place afterwards. On March 21, 1997, this changed. The Vatican granted permission for the cremated remains of a body to be brought into church for the liturgical rites of burial. It is still, however, the Church's preference to have the full compliment of funeral rites take place with the body present and then have cremation afterwards.
| All too often people say, "Funerals are for the living, not the dead." For Catholics such a statement is not complete, because the Catholic funeral rites offer us the opportunity to praise and thank God for the love ad mercy he has shown the deceased person. It is also a time where the community of believers prays for the repose of the soul of the deceased, and offers consolation to the surviving family and friends. The purpose of this page is to briefly explain the catholic funeral rites. It also offers a few simple guidelines that may help families when placed in the situation of making funeral arrangements. "Christians celebrate the funeral rites to offer worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God for the gift of life which has been returned to God, the author of life and the hope of the just. The Mass, the memorial of Christ's death and resurrection, is the principal celebration of the Christian funeral." Order of Christian Funerals, para 5. |
My brother passed away in 2002. He was cremated and his remains stayed in a storage (for this purpose) area in a chapel at his church until about late 2004, early 2005 when they were removed to a crematorium in an outdoor garden next to St. Matthews RC church in Charlotte, NC. It is a very peaceful area conducive to prayers and quiet reflection.
We have a Columbarium in our Church. I still can't get used to Catholic cremation.
And typical.
Cremation is permitted only as a last resort for people in straitened circumstances or times of public emergency.
It just isn't Catholic.
Many, many people can't afford burial costs these days. They are out of sight.
"Many, many people can't afford burial costs these days. They are out of sight."
They don't have to be out of sight.
There are reasonably prices coffins and cemetaries available.
There are Catholic burial societies who help people in need who cannot afford to bury their dead.
My pastor will make appeals from the pulpit for such funds and I have witnessed those donations in action.
I'd rather be buried unembalmed in a pine box with a headstone consisting of a single fired brick than be burnt like a pagan.
No Catholic parish should allow one of their own to be incinerated solely due to lack of funds.
Columbarium. We have one at St. Luke's, too.
However, Bishop Jugis has said that no new columbaria are to be built in the Charlotte Diocese at this time. He believes that the Church's preference for burial over cremation should be expressed by their making Catholic cemetery space available, rather than space for cremated remains.
?
I still can't get used to Catholic cremation.
Me neither that is why I plan to entrust my funeral plans to a lawyer to prevent anyone from roasting my remains.
I am Catholic & was never able to understand the Churches reticence towards cremation. We all end up in the same final state - dust. I.E. "Dust to Dust" is a reference to the Book of Common Prayer quote "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" (referencing the Bible at Genesis 3:19) which is often spoken in prayer at a funeral.
Huh? How is cremation any less expensive? And, BTW, what is so expensive about a funeral? There are many ways to keep expenses to a minimu.
Likewise ...
Well cremation's not much cheaper. My mother requested cremation...I think she did so because she wanted to spare us some expense. She and my dad had been very ill for a long time and no longer had insurance. I paid nearly $8000 for the viewing and funeral because I wanted a real viewing and the body present at the funeral. That required embalming. I also paid about 700 dollars to rent a casket for the viewing and the funeral. The Columbarium cost me $1749.00.
The cremation itself was only $1000 but all in all, it's no bargain. The best idea is to prepay as much as you can. When my mother in law died she had pre planned and pre payed for everything...right down to the music at her funeral. It was a great relief to my wife and brother in law to not have to make a lot of decisions wondering 'what would mother want me to do?'
I don't get the word's relationship to cremation, either.
My grandfather passed away in May of 2005, he had preplanned everything years earlier. It made things so much easier on my mom and her brother. He did not preplan his funeral Mass (he converted in 1989 at the age of 69), but my mom handled that without too much trouble. BTW, he chose a lovely casket with 4 small Pieta statues on the corners. They were removable, so my mom, my uncle, my brother, and I each got one (mine sits in the living room in front of the family Bible). It was quite a surprise to all of us that he chose such an elaborate casket, as Papa was a very simple man.
Ditto!! And, regardless of burial or cremation, most Catholics will want a funeral Mass. I recently attended a funeral for someone who had been cremated before the Mass. The funeral director carried a small cardboard box and placed it on a table near the Sanctuary. Ugh!
This is a great idea!
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