Dear Parishioners, The Church has recently clarified its positions on cremation. Below are the fundamental points of the Vatican statement on this topic. With blessings, Fr. Tim Byerley Pastor On 5 July 1963, the then Holy Office established that “all necessary measures must be taken to preserve the practice of reverently burying the faithful departed," adding however that cremation is not “opposed per se to the Christian religion” and that no longer should the sacraments and