Death
Do baptized babies who die before they reach the use of reason become angels?
Is it allowed for Catholics who are cremated to have their ashes scattered
over the sea or kept in the family house or planted under the base of a tree?
No. Your pastor will be able to tell you the correct guidelines about the appropriate disposal of cremated human remains. Catholics are not allowed to make such provisions as you have stated for their cremated remains nor are Catholic family members permitted to do such things with the ashes. Your pastor will also be able to tell you that burial is the preferred way to take care of the bodies of deceased Catholics, as this is more in line with our traditions and discipline. Cremation is allowed, however, for Catholics provided it is not done in contempt of our doctrines, such as the immortality of the human soul, the resurrection of the dead at the end of the world, etc.
Reprinted from July 17, 1998
Recently our newspaper gave some publicity to a man who claims to believe
in reincarnation and yet claims that he is a good Catholic. Is this possible?
No, it is not possible. Reincarnation is not compatible with the Catholic Faith. If one believes in reincarnation, then such a person lapses, by that fact from the Catholic Faith. Sacred Scripture says, "It is appointed unto man once to die and after death the judgment." Reincarnation is untrue and is a pagan myth. By the way, the journalist who wrote the article you cite appears to be an ignorant bigot. Pay no attention to anything he writes about religion.
Reprinted June 20, 1997
Can Catholics and their non-Catholic spouses be buried together
in a Catholic section of a cemetery or should they have a plot in another
section of the cemetery?
Non-Catholic spouses may be buried alongside their Catholic spouses in Catholic cemeteries or in Catholic sections of mixed cemeteries. There is no need to have a plot in a non-Catholic cemetery or in a non-Catholic section of a cemetery.
Reprinted from March 14, 1997
I married my husband five years
ago. We were a widow and a widower. He became a Catholic right before we were
married and now we are elderly. When we die we want to be buried next to our
first spouses… me in our Catholic cemetery and him in the non-Catholic
cemetery next to his Protestant first wife. May a Catholic be buried in a
non-Catholic cemetery?
Yes, this is possible. A Catholic priest can bless the grave of your present Catholic husband when he dies, even if this grave is not in a Catholic cemetery. We recommend that you talk this matter over with your pastor, however, and make sure that both of your leave clear instructions in writing about your funeral wishes.
Reprinted from May
23, 1997
To save money, our funeral director told us, when we were pre-planning our
funerals, that we should just have a service at the funeral parlor and then
our children can have a Mass for us later. Is this all right?
No. When a funeral Mass is offered for the soul of a deceased Catholic, his body should be brought to the church for the funeral Mass, where it should reverently be blessed with holy water, covered with a pall, and devoutly incensed before being laid to rest, to await the resurrection, in the holy ground of a Catholic cemetery. While a Catholic lives, his body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and has been made sacred by the sacraments. It is destined to be reunited with his soul at the end of the world. There are better ways to save money on funerals than to follow the wrong suggestion of your funeral director.
Reprinted from
May 30, 1997
Do baptized babies who die before they reach the use of reason become angels?
No. They are saints.
Reprinted from November 29, 1996
Can Catholics believe in re-incarnation?
No. Sacred Scripture says (Hebrews 9:27), "It appointed unto men to die once and after death comes the judgment…" Reincarnation is a heathen concept incompatible with Christianity. The magisterium (teaching authority) of the Catholic Church teaches that reincarnation is completely untrue.
Reprinted from November 8, 1996