 Church belief in the resurrection of the body led to a prohibition against cremation that was <unk> modified at the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s under limited circumstances , but those conditions have been largely ignored even by the clergy . According to the Catechism , burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy that must treat the body with respect and love ( e.g. scattering of <unk> remains , burial in an unmarked grave , <unk> are forbidden in the Catholic Church ) . Organ donation after death and organ <unk> under certain terms , also <unk> for legal and scientific reasons are permitted . 
