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Labour MP Hails Malta’s Foremost Atheist As She Confirms Crematoria Will Have Space For Humanist Funerals

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Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar has confirmed that future crematoria will have to include space for atheists and humanists to conduct their own funerals.

Presenting her landmark cremation bill in Parliament this afternoon, Cutajar paid tribute to the late Ramon Casha, the former chairman of the Malta Humanist Association and torchbearer for atheism on the island, who died after a motorbike accident in 2017.

“I’m convinced that were Casha alive still alive today he’d be pleased at this law and that he’d knock on my door tomorrow for a discussion about it,” Cutajar said.

“We’re not imposing anything on anyone, rather we’re giving them a choice. Atheists and agnostics have the right to a post-death celebration that’s free of all religious references. As it stands, there is no specific place for non-religious funerals.”

“Humanists have told me that they need a place near crematoria that could welcome a substantial number of people for post-death celebrations. We have taken this point into consideration and indeed the new law envisages a viewing room, a multipurpose room where all ceremonies and celebrations can be held according to the wishes of the deceased and their family.”

“This law, first and foremost, is about respecting individual wishes.”

As it stands, to organise a civil funeral one must first find a location that would allow a dead body on the premises and get clearance from the Health Ministry and your family. For example, Casha had a secular funeral at the Radisson Blu Golden Sands resort.

The fine print of the cremation bill

Cremation Chamber 750

• People will be given flexibility on what to do with their ashes. For example, one can scatter the out to sea, plant them in the soil, or keep them in jewellery. Of course, one can also close to store your ashes in an urn, which can be kept at home, buried in a tomb, stored inside a columbarium or, in the case of famous people, put on display inside a museum. Urns with remains cannot be sold.

• Each crematorium will have to have a mortuary, a viewing room, adequate facilities for the extraction of implants from the body, a cremation room and a storage room for remains.

• Regulation will be in the hands of the Superintendence of Public Health, which will be responsible for monitoring crematoria, conducting inspections on them at least once a year and empowering them to take all necessary action if they breach their license obligations.

• People who operate illegal crematoria risk a 3-5 year prison sentence and/or a fine of between €10,000 and €30,000. License breaches are punishable by six months’ jail and a fine of €5,000 and €15,000.

• A national registry will be set up to record people’s wishes on whether they want to cremated and, if so, how. While the registry won’t be legally-binding, it will serve as a platform for people to formally express their wishes to be cremated. People will be able to register from as young as 16 years old and can change their wishes at any moment.

What do you make of this announcement?

READ NEXT: So, How Do You Organise A Civil, Secular Funeral In Malta Exactly?

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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