Can there be a Catholic funeral mass if the body is donated to science?

Question

My mother-in-law wants to donate her entire body to science. Will a Catholic priest or the Catholic church for that matter still perform a funeral mass if there is no body or ashes?

Answer 1

Yes.

No problem.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Organ transplants are in conformity with the moral law if the physical and psychological dangers and risks incurred by the donor are proportionate to the good sought for the recipient.

Donation of organs after death is a noble and meritorious act and is to be encouraged as a manifestation of generous solidarity.

It is not morally acceptable if the donor or those who legitimately speak for him have not given their explicit consent.

Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae states:
1. Organ and tissue donation is heroic and praiseworthy.
2. The donor must be dead before organs and tissue can be harvested.
3. The determination of death is left to medical experts.

By the way, Pope Benedict XVI is a registered organ doner: http://www.zenit.org/english/archive/9902/ZE990204.html#item10

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 2296: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art5.htm#2296
Or the Encyclical EVANGELIUM VITAE: http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0141/_INDEX.HTM

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Hello,

Yes, of course. You do not need a body for a funeral mass. What about those who are drowned in the depths of the ocean, totally vaporized in infernos or explosions where no body is recovered? The funeral goes on.

Michael

Answer 3

Yes, of course.