Policy:
Pastors and associate pastors are granted permission for the Funeral Liturgy to be celebrated in the presence of the cremated remains. (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on March 21, 1997- Prot. N. CD 1589/96/L and Order of Christian Funerals Appendix 2: Cremation: Decree of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.)
Procedure:
A) In every case, the priest must consider the reasons for the request and receive the necessary assurance that the cremated remains will be handled with reverence and will be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. (Order of Christian Funerals Appendix 2: Cremation #417)
B) If there are plans to scatter the cremains, a clergyman or representative of the Church should not be present for the Rite of Committal.
