UNTIL the Christian doctrine of resurrection was introduced, cremation as a method of dealing with the mortal remains of a person after death was a general practice in the ancient world. There were, and still are, elaborate rites woven around this tradition, which is still observed by many cultures and religions.

For many years of its history, however, the Catholic church forbade the practice, to the point of refusing to bury the ashes of the deceased in a Catholic cemetery.

Now the practice has come full circle for the Catholic church?from having been banned through a decree issued by Pope Gregory IX in 1234; to a stringent provision in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the official legislation of the Roman Catholic church, which even forbade the celebration of a funeral Mass for the ashes of the dead; to the present 1983 Code of Canon Law which ?recommends? the practice of ?reverently burying the faithful departed? but also ?permits? cremation.

Explains Msgr. Joselito C. de Asis, JCD, assistant secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).: ?Now, as before, the basis for the Church?s position and instruction on cremation is really Church doctrine or teachings, specifically belief in the resurrection (that the body will rise from the dead on Judgment Day at the end of the world) and reverence for the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.?

Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, there were penal provisions for people who asked to have their body cremated, or for anyone who ordered the cremation of a body, he adds, including being denied a Christian burial and blessing. The basis for the prohibition and the sanctions was not cremation per se, but what was perceived might be the motive of the cremation?rejection of the doctrine of the resurrection, or disrespect for the body.

But in 1963, shortly after Vatican II or the period of intense study and renewal of its teachings and practices, the Catholic church ?determined that cremation was no longer absolutely forbidden.? What this meant was that the restrictions and penalties of the 1917 Code would only apply ?when it was certain that cremation was chosen because of the denial of Christian dogmas, or because of a sectarian spirit, or through hatred of the Christian religion and the Church.?

Still, the Church was clearly hesitant to give its blessing, literally, declaring that prayers for the dead were ?never to be performed in the very place where the cremation is done, not even by way of simply accompanying the transfer of the remains.?

Only with the New Code of Canon Law (1983) did the Church lift the prohibition, as well as the penalties, as it states: ?The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burial be retained; but it does not forbid cremation, unless this is chosen for reasons which are contrary to Church teachings.?

Msgr. de Asis, a canon lawyer who completed his doctoral studies in Rome, further explains that following this new provision in Canon Law, the various Episcopal conferences have drawn up their own instructions regarding cremation as practiced in their respective jurisdictions.

In the Philippines, the CBCP has issued a number of guidelines, especially in view of ?certain practices surrounding cremation that are not in accord with the mind of the Church.?

1. Cremation may take place before or after the funeral Mass.

2. When held before the funeral Mass, the rite of final commendation and committal (final blessing) may be performed in the crematorium chapel before the cremation, and the funeral Mass celebrated in the presence of the ashes.

3. When cremation is held after the Mass, the rite of final commendation (final blessing) of the remains concludes the Mass.

4. During the cremation process, the family and friends of the deceased are encouraged to gather in prayer.

5. After cremation, the ashes are to be placed in a worthy urn and brought reverently to the place of burial.

6. The cremated remains should be buried in a grave, mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering the ashes in the sea or from the air is not in keeping with the Church?s norm regarding the proper disposal of the remains of the dead.

7. The urn holding the ashes should not be kept permanently at home or family altar. If there is to be a delay in the proper disposal of the ashes, these may be kept temporarily in an appropriate place.