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

The crucifix (Christ nailed on the cross rather than a cross by itself) is a Catholic image literally of the dead Christ, which by my reckoning is 2025 years old, give or take.

Dead Catholic imagery is not new.

See also Capuchin Cemetary and Catholic relics. Bits of dead everywhere.

Actual cameras have been around for nearly 200 years though. YOu can't pretend this is a new thing.

i think it completely depends - Vatican releasing an official photo seems very different from members of the public strolling up with their own phones to take a selfie of an open coffin. i personally think the latter is poor form but people have fewer boundaries now!

The insane modern world
Pathetic people

Gosh that does sound grim.
Ive heard of photos taken of family members with the dead body ( not a catholic thing) in the early days of photography when they’d prop the body up beside them which is also grim but a sign of the times I suppose.

Im thinking the family you visited did this because they wanted to and not because of their religion. Perhaps it’s just a family tradition.

It’s really bizarre but yes a cultural thing. In the course of my work I went in to the house of an Irish family. They had a framed photograph in pride of place n their mantelpiece of their dead grandma in her coffin? I really couldn’t understand why!

In what way is it “cultural” camera phones are a relatively recent thing?

There are photos of dead criminals and victims in some police museums and such. They are ghoulish, as is taking photographs of this man in his coffin. Height of disrespect. Amazed it’s allowed.

I´m catholic and I agree with you.

No I’m afraid not.
Its not actually allowed to take a photo of the Pope in this situation. People are though and I suppose no one feels they can stop them in their grief.

I don't think it's the "height of disrespect" - funeral bombings are probably worse.

It's a cultural thing anyway (photographs, not bombings). I find open-cask coffins distasteful, others don't.

I wouldn’t want to be cremated. None of my family have been. I’ll be going in the ground like the rest of them. I like the idea of knowing they are there when I visit the graves.
I accept peoples choice though and I think it’s good the church is trying to give way on some things.

It’s interesting how others see these images
Ive never regarded the image of the Sacred heart as bloody or ‘opening up his chest to reveal his heart’….In reality it represents the image of Gods Love.

The stations of the cross are about the journey to crucifixion, resurrection and the saving of souls. So again I’ve always seen those as his path to salvation.

It’s interesting how they are viewed by others though

I see the daily fail have picked up this thread 🙄 getting your leads from us are you, you lazy bastards

I can't believe you actually typed that I really can't.....

You're the one saying sin...

I'm saying love of bodiliness...

It’s literally not though. Several people have told you it’s the norm in their area of the UK. It might not be the norm for you but that doesn’t mean it’s “extremely rare” in the UK as a whole.

Your own family member perhaps, not otherwise.

Sadly some of the mourners there will be those for whom it is grief tourism or some form of performative grieving.

Oh, so it’s a sin because come the day of judgement there will be no body to resurrect? I think what with God being, you know, omnipotent, that wouldn’t be too much of a problem for Him.

Many, many Catholic churches in Italy display the 'miraculously preserved' relics of saints in glass cases in their altars. It's reasonably common for there to be lights that come on if you put a coin in a slot. There are certainly cultural differences regarding the respectful treatment of corpses!

It’s the pope. I’m sure he would expect all good Catholics to take a photo, frame it and display it proudly.

I’m sorry - you don’t believe all cultures are equal? Please would you explain this statement ?

Oh and let’s not forget the death mask - making a plaster cast of some ones face after death - the world is a fascinating place and no where is the difference between cultures more apparent than in the ways we mark deaths

Not so long ago we propped corpses up for a family photo before they were interred - I would say horses for courses

our approach to death is massively different to other cultures. We just like to judge because we don’t deal with it in the same
way. There are some cultures who keep their loved ones in a room for so many days and relatives pop in and have a chat. We really do make it taboo and if it doesn’t fit with our expectations then it’s morbid or disrespectful. Death can be a celebration! I appreciate that there are those who do it for the wrong reasons but this isn’t a new thing and it’s known that this is a thing, I’d say we need to stop describing things that don’t conform to our expectations in such a way. I’m sure that other cultures judge us for things too!

❤️