Does the Catholic Church Allow Cremation Services?
If you’re Catholic, you might be under the impression that choosing cremation services in Sarasota, FL for yourself or for a loved one is a big no-no. This is because, for a long time, the Catholic Church was adamantly against allowing people to pick cremation services over burial services. But is this still the case? That’s what we’re going to discuss today. Continue reading to discover whether or not the Catholic Church now allows cremation services to be a viable option.
The Catholic Church does allow cremation services.
As we just alluded to, the Catholic Church didn’t used to be on board with allowing families to carry out Sarasota, FL cremations. But right around 50 years ago, the Catholic Church changed its stance on cremation. They reversed their ruling against cremation and said that Catholic families could begin to consider cremating their loved ones. It was a landmark ruling and changed the entire funeral industry in a lot of ways.
There are, however, guidelines Catholic families must follow with regard to cremation services.
Although the Catholic Church has come around to accepting cremation services, it hasn’t fully endorsed all aspects of cremation. If you and your Catholic family are going to conduct a cremation, you’ll need to follow certain guidelines while you do it. For example, you’ll need to make sure that your loved one is still present at a funeral that you hold for them. You’ll also need to abstain from bringing a loved one’s remains home following their cremation and bury them in a cemetery instead. If you don’t do these things, you’ll still technically be going against the teachings of the Catholic Church by choosing cremation services.
Your family should think long and hard about whether or not you want to cremate a loved one.
Even though the Catholic Church now allows families to choose cremation services, that doesn’t mean that you necessarily need to do it. You should continue to put a lot of time and thought into deciding if cremation will be the best option for a loved one. Many families still bury their loved ones because of their Catholic beliefs. You might want to think about going in this direction if you aren’t 100 percent comfortable with the idea of cremating a loved one.
Many other religions have also come around to allowing cremation services.
The Catholic Church is far from the only religious institution that has come around to allowing cremation services. There are still a few religions, like Islam and Judaism, that outlaw cremation. But generally speaking, most of the other major religions have found a way to accept cremation in some form or fashion. You and your family should look deeper into this if you’re interested in seeing where your religion stands on cremation at this time.
Does your family want to find out where your religion falls on the Sarasota, FL cremation debate? Our funeral home can help you see where your religion stands when your family preplans a cremation through us. Give us a call now to speak with a funeral director about our cremation services.