*2.2. The Practice of Cremation*

Contrary to various religious traditions that attach a spiritual value to the practice, the Roman Catholic Church considers cremation as a complex subject. One of the core texts of Christian faith, the Apostles Creed, holds as its eleventh of twelve articles that Christians believe in "the resurrection of the body". Thus, for many centuries burning the body was considered sacrilegious. Burying the dead was very important for the biblical Jewish religion and became one of the twelve traditional works of mercy for pious Christians. In later ages and with the development of Christian anthropology, personhood became very much connected to the body. In its core, Roman Catholic faith attaches an intrinsic and even divine value to the body, declaring the human being as one, made of both body and soul.<sup>1</sup> In 1963, the first official opening to the practice of cremation was made by church authorities. In the instruction entitled "*Piam et Constantem"* it was declared that cremation was not against the Christian religion and thus was allowed for Christians, although burying the body remained the preferable option. This declaration still reflects the official position of the Roman Catholic Church in view of cremation today. In 1997, it was granted for the regional conferences of bishops to make provisions, meaning to develop a liturgy, to permit the presence of the cremated body at the funeral liturgy.2 Before, the preferred and most common practice was to have the funeral liturgy first and the cremation afterwards, in most cases without a ritual at the grave, leaving out the last station of the funeral rite. In 2016, the Vatican again issued an instruction on the topic of cremation, *Ad resurgendum cum Christo* (CDF 2016). This document repeats the recommendation of burying the body "following the most ancient Christian tradition" (nr. 3) and at the same time allowing cremation, preferably after the funeral liturgy: "the Church, after the celebration of the funeral rite, accompanies

<sup>1</sup> Compare for example the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes nr. 14, the official edition can be found on http: //www.vatican.va/archive/hist\_councils/ii\_vatican\_council/documents/vat-ii\_const\_19651207\_gaudium-et-spes\_en.html.

<sup>2</sup> See this statement of the American Bishops' Conference: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/bereavement-andfunerals/cremation-and-funerals.cfm.

the choice of cremation, providing the relevant liturgical and pastoral directives" (nr. 4). The document mainly stresses the importance of the correct conservation of the ashes. The instruction expresses the importance of resting in "a sacred place", both in view of tradition and in view of remembrance and community (nr. 5). Apart from exceptional cases dependent on cultural conditions, it forbids the conservation of ashes in a domestic residence (nr. 6) and the scattering of the ashes "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" (nr. 7).

In regard of the Flemish (Belgian) situation, figures show how the total number of cremations rises every year.3 In 2006, less than 50% of the Belgian deceased were cremated. In 2019, the number has risen to 62%.<sup>4</sup> Almost 45% of the Belgians who die, still opt for a Roman Catholic Funeral.<sup>5</sup> Although no figures are available on the percentage of cremations among these cases, it is safe to say that a substantial part of them have chosen the practice of cremation. In view of this, the Belgian bishops issued directions and guidelines for a funeral rite in the case of cremation. The most recent statements on this topic were made in 2008 and 2012, explaining the current policy and giving directions (ICLZ 2008), and a complete ritual ordo (ICLZ 2012). Two practices are tackled in these documents: funeral liturgy without the celebration of the Eucharist (Goyvaerts 2020) and funeral liturgy in case of cremation before the funeral ritual. In 2013, the Belgian bishops added a statement in which they ended the practices of church ministers being mandated to preside the funeral rite in the crematoria, distancing themselves as such from an eclectic character of many funeral rituals, and refocusing on the church building as the sacred space for liturgy.6 The underlying reasons are the recent commercial evolutions in the funeral business and the increasing lack of ties with Christian traditional liturgy. The bishops declare: "from a liturgical and ecclesiastical point of view, a ceremony in the crematorium cannot function as an alternative to the church funeral liturgy as offered in the parish churches" (Vlaamse Bisschoppen 2013, p. 2, trans. by authors).
