to think taking photos of someone in a coffin is the height of disrespect?

Yes, same here.

I completely agree OP

Being waked at home and straight for cremation.

That's what I've opted for. It was the first question our solicitor asked when she was preparing our wills - "What do you want to happen your body?"

My family are Irish country catholic.

Up to a number of years ago the most common way a funeral was dealt with was to have a wake at a funeral home the night before. All the family and relatives stood around ready to greet people. The coffin was either open or closed but mostly open. After shaking hands with the family, a lot of people would go and look at the body and perhaps say a prayer. You'd see others completely avoid the body as it's not for everyone. Then the body was brought to the local church, prayers were said and the coffin remained overnight. Mass then the following day and burial afterwards.

Now, it's very common to have the undertaker bring the body home where they are laid out in a room. This could go on for a number of days. Mourners call, tea, cakes and sandwiches are always on the go. It was often the case that the corpse was never left alone, someone stayed up with them or rotated it. Then eventually the funeral went to the church for mass on the day of the burial/cremation.

It's definitely less and less that the corpse stays alone in the church the night before burial/cremation.

Cremation has got very popular also. There's also been a surge in younger people completely bypassing the church. Being waked at home and straight for cremation.

Good point.
My parents ( Catholic) didn’t either however people went to ‘view’ them in the Funeral Parlour and the coffin lid was off if they wanted it to be. Most did and our Portuguese Catholic neighbours spent a whole day there lighting candles and praying.

I wonder if other religions and the non religious do this. At least in terms of visiting the Funeral Parlour to view the body ?

Yep
They were the ones often burned as witches.

It's not disrespectful or creepy at all if it is the norm in that culture.

My Dad had a lot of Irish relatives and he attended most of their funerals. Having a wake the night before the funeral in the house with the deceased laid out in an open casket was normal, although personal choice of the deceased and/or their family would be respected too. Nobody would have batted an eyelid either way.

It's actually more disrespectful of you to just diss the tradition without any further thought.

Obviously there are occasions when a body is not in a fit state to be displayed, so sometimes it isn't done. That's it. Common sense is used.

The use of the word 'Catholics' to sum up the burial and funeral practices of a huge, huge body of people across the world is a little strange and old fashioned. Catholics in England, say, brought up in a non-Catholic country are probably going to arrange funerals in a way that is quite different from Mexican Catholics. Neither of my Catholic parents had open caskets and nobody took photos.

Well quite the photos/film of the deceased pope is all around the world I don't see people taking photos any different, to recording it on television or cutting out a photo from a newspaper.

I never took any photos of mum or dad when dying or dead as I felt it would be disrespectful. Nominal C of E.

No idea how it works with other religions.

I wouldn't personally take photos of the body in the open casket, but I see no problem with people doing so if they remain respectful. I think it might be cultural.

After all, the Vatican released pictures of the Pope in his coffin once ready to be displayed for the lying in state. Those pictures went around the world. Why is it disrespectful for people to take their own photos but not for the Vatican?

As I said, not something I would do, but we are all different.

Washing and preparing bodies was women's work in the UK; I used to know someone whose family traditionally did this. The same kind of women who would have been healers or birthing partners but specialised in corpse care instead. Respectful and skilled and humble and ever so slightly witchy.

Would you believe there is a guide on how to manage this issue on The Good Funeral Guide

If caring for them yourselves it’s all down to keeping the body cool and cleaning the deceased straight away.

I want to know what you mean by 'respectful'.

I don't think it means what you probably think it means.

It’s embalmed.

No, cremation is allowed by the Catholic church as long as a Catholic requiem Mass follows or precedes the cremation and as long as the remains are buried in consecrated ground. What is to be avoided is the denial of the resurrection of the body.

What the Church doesn't allow (though lots of people do it) is the scattering of ashes in unconsecretated ground, i.e. not in a consecrated cemetery but over the ocean, in a river, at a favourite picnic spot, in your rose garden, or kept in an urn on your mantelpiece, turned into jewellery, divided among family members, etc. The Church insists on dignified treatment of the remains and prioritizing the basic tenet of Catholicism - the resurrection of the body.

Wrt the photos of the Pope lying in state - I'm RC and personally wouldn't do it, but I've been to many a very jolly wake and to others that were more sombre, with both open and closed coffins. Among Catholics, there's a wide variety of styles of celebrating the life of a beloved person who has died.

I found the horror of death and avoidance of the topic among other cultures a bit of a shocker when I first encountered it, and still see it as odd.

If thé body is not embalmed, surely it starts to stink? I wonder if this is why heavily scented flowers such as lilies were common at funerals And présumably wakes?

Not necessarily that culture
Maybe more something more people did historically before things started to change in the 20th century.

Keeping people at home after death was quite normal in the 19th century and before.
It was considered respectful for the family to care for the body

Nope it’s not creepy or disrespectful at all ✌️

I'll add a
3 One last night in their own home, surrounded by friends and family sounds like a lovely tradition. Far from disrespectful

1. She didn't say it was disrespectful, certainly not "incredibly disrespectful"
2. How can something that is normal IN THAT CULTURE be disrespectful? Or creepy? It's just been explained that it's normal.

The only thing disrespectful here is your comment.

I thought the same thing. Found it deeply disturbing.

Edited to add that I am Catholic.

Not just my experience tbh
Even if this concept is googled it’s widely noted as being rare around the world.
Its not just the UK that has Catholics

Wow. And all of them authentic.