The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are often called the “Age of Enlightenment”. During this period some who denied the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, in order to emphasize their point, willed their bodies to be cremated. In doing so, they would be challenging God to resurrect a body from ashes. Cremation was for these individuals a mockery of Christian beliefs. During this period, the Church forbade a Catholic to be cremated. This attitude does not seem to be prevalent today, and as a result, the Church has lifted the ban on cremation. The revised Code of Canon Law (1983) states:
Canon 1176 §3: “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 which are contrary to Christian teaching”.
Canon 1184 §1: “Unless they have given some signs of repentance before their death, the following are to be deprived of ecclesiastical funeral rites:
2° Persons who had chosen the cremation of their own bodies for reasons opposed to the Christian faith”.
During the Christian funeral, the body can be brought to the Church for the Mass and cremated afterwards. If cremation occurred first, the remains cannot be treated as a body, that is, they may not be incensed or blessed with holy water. The law is not clear about the scattering of ashes. It does not actually forbid such a practice. However, our Catholic tradition would call for an interment of some sort.
Some dioceses throughout the world have sought exceptions and rescript to the above practices in order to allow for full rites over the cremains. Permission has been granted by the Holy See on a case-by-case basis. The Diocese of Honolulu has been granted this exemption.