Dying For Cremation

That unpleasant question that eventually hits everybody reared its head in general the other day when Catholics were alerted to it.. "Do I want to buried or cremated when I die"? It used to be that cremation was prohibited by the Catholic Church. But in 1963 the church said it was ok, if not preferable. It permitted cremation only if that choice is not a reflection of doubt or disbelief about Catholic teachings about death, resurrection, and rebirth to eternal life. After cremation was allowed, the Church still required that cremation be carried out only after the actual body was present at the funeral Mass. Ashes were not allowed to substitute for the body at the funeral Mass. Ok , this is a little too technical.

Today it has loosened even more and this week Pope Francis established guidelines for Catholics who want to be cremated, saying their remains must be stored in a sacred, church approved place and may not be divvied up or kept at home. Gee, it's almost not worth dying if you are Catholic. I think the lifting of cremation rules is a reflection of how that religion and all religions in the west are becoming more and more secular. Strict religious doctrine doesn't fly much anymore in the increasingly secular west.

Cremation has been with humans since the stone age I checked on cremation rates worldwide and found some interesting states. China cremates more people each year than any other country, reporting 4,534,000 cremations out of 9,348,453 deaths (a 48.50% rate). But Japan cremates almost everyone, rate of 99.85%. I suspect the lack of land to bury people and the religious practice there accounts for that. Canada cremates 68.4% and the United states 46.4%. I think Canada and the U.S have such an increasing cremation rate because their religions now allow it, because people move so much in those countries that the traditional "burial plot' is no longer there and because cremation is much cheaper than burial.

At this point in my life I think it's ok to just drive my dead body into the ground with a croquet mallet. There's no dignity in death anyway. If I ever am cremated my ashes will be harmless. Supposedly, human cremans (Yep! That's the word for it.) contain harmless minerals that are absorbed into the soil a few days after their release. They pose no threat to humans or to the environment.  Of course, I won't guarantee my remains will stop ranting about cell phones and other human idiocies.

No longer is dead Uncle Otto's ashes kept in an urn on the fireplace mantel. In recent years, people have turned ashes into synthetic diamonds, tattoo ink, sent them into space, used them in vinyl records, in Teddy Bears, inside hour glasses, in pencils, portraits, stained glass, even fireworks (for those who want to out out with a bang). Gee, kind of makes you want to die sooner rather than later.