Burial or Cremation?

For the first Christians, the resurrection after death was a strong reality. They did everything they could to be able to bury the bodies of their dead. When we visit the catacombs in Rome, we are struck by the care and the faith with which the dead were buried. They are laid out as if they were sleeping. «We look for the Resurrection of the dead and life everlasting» (The Creed) Such is the faith of Christians who believe that, just as Christ rose from the tomb with his body, so too we will rise with our body by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is why cremation had been rejected for a long time since it was seen as a refusal to believe in the Resurrection. Today the Church no longer forbids a funeral ceremony if a person chooses cremation for a GOOD REASON, and there is no danger in compromising the belief in the resurrection of the dead. In certain countries, it is sometimes a necessity, and also under certain circumstances. The same respect ought to be given to the ashes as is given to the body of the deceased. They should be deposited in an established and respectable place in a cemetery but NEVER IN ONE’s HOME. Nevertheless, the relationship between faith and practice leads us to PREFER burying the body whenever possible. This signifies more clearly the respect of the body of each person who has become a temple of the Holy Spirit through baptism and who is called to the resurrection on the last day. Nourished by the Eucharist - the Body of Christ - our mortal bodies are given the promise of immortality. Burying the dead, as the first Christians did, signifies the expectation of the Resurrection. Even in those situations where cremation seems the only possible alternative, the Church always desires that the Funeral Mass be celebrated with the body present, and then the cremation can take place afterwards.

Israel and Hamas

The conlfict between Israel and Hamas is not a new one. Unfortunately it has led to the situation which we observe in the news. Many would agree that Israel has a right to defend itself from the attacks by Hamas. Many would also say that Hamas is a terrorist group. And although I would not disagree with the last two statements, I have a problem with the way that Israel seems to be conducting this war, which begins to bring back memories from the war in Lebanon in 2006. The Catholic Church has spoken about the need to end this conflic, and it is now speaking boldly on behalf of the Palestinians. Since the beginning of the war it seems like the amount of civilian casualties increases day by day at alarming proportions. The living situations for the Palestinians are described as inhuman, no water, no electricity in many places, no food, and no medical supplies. The world cannot simply remain quiet and again not speak on behalf of our Palestinians brothers, and yes, we must remember that not all Palestinians are members of Hamas, and that not all Palestinians are terrorists. In fact many of the victims in this war have been defenseless children and women, innocent victims. But the world is afraid to criticize Israel for its inhuman actions. Many Catholic Bishops suppported by the Pope are traveling right now to Bethlehem to speak on behalf of the innocent. Violence as they say is specially evil when it blocks humanitarian relief efforts badly needed to provide for the most basic needs of the Palestinians. We cannot ignore the unjust attack of Israel to a school under the care of the UN that has bombed by Israel killing about 40 children, because according to Israel some men from Hamas had sought refuge there. We have lost the sense of justice, and we cannot remain blind to some of the atrocities being committed in the name of self-defense. To fight terrorism we cannot become terrorists ourselves and destroy the lives of innocent people as terrorists do. That is a contradiction. And again, unfortunately, it seems like Israel did not learn its lesson from the Lebanon war. We must pray for an end to this conflict and for and end to all violence and unjust aggressions both from Hamas side and the Jewish state as well.