Holding a non-religious funeral remains a challenge in Malta, with no facilities currently available for those who wish to hold a ceremony praesente cadavere for the deceased, representatives of the Malta Humanist Association said.
Humanist funerals, which are based around a lay ceremony that celebrates the life and achievements of the deceased, remain few and far between.
However, licensed celebrant Reuben Zammit says the demand exists and shows signs of increasing, with four such ceremonies held in the past year and a half.
In January last year, one such ceremony was held to honour Ramon Casha, president of the Malta Humanist Association, after he succumbed to complications arising from a motorbike accident. The ceremony, which was held at a hotel, was in fact not conducted praesente cadavere.
“You cannot really call it a funeral, without the remains. It was more of a memorial. Non-religious memorials are not a problem to organise, of course. But if someone really wishes to have a proper funeral, it is not straightforward at all and there is a good chance that this wish is not respected for logistical and legal reasons,” Mr Zammit said.
The problem is not that such celebrations are illegal, but simply that the law does not make provision for them as yet.
“Malta lacks a regulatory framework to cover such funerals,” Gail Debono, another celebrant, added.
“When you are holding a ceremony and the remains are present, issues of hygiene and permits come into play, so you cannot just decide to hold it in a public place of your choosing. Religious funerals are covered by regulations, but because humanist ceremonies are a relatively recent introduction, the law does not yet cater for them.”
Another common problem encountered is that a lot of people do not actually understand the implications of holding such a funeral, which makes trying to organise one more difficult.
If a person does not wish to be buried through a religious ceremony, they have every right to have that wish fulfilled
“In Malta, the idea is still outlandish enough that, when we contact the owners of venues, or even personnel at the Addolorata Cemetery, it takes quite some time for people to grasp what we are talking about,” Ms Debono says.
One of the requirements to hold a praesente cadavere ceremony is a permit issued by the Health Ministry that allows organisers to host human remains within the building. Such permits are granted to churches on a permanent basis.
“It is possible to apply for this permit on an individual basis, of course, but this is not practical, for various reasons,” Christian Colombo, another humanist celebrant, explained.
“Funerals in Malta tend to be held shortly after the passing, typically within two to three days at most. The issue of such permits comes with a number of bureaucratic requirements, which are unlikely to be satisfied within such a short time span,” Mr Colombo says.
“It would be impractical to have to start from scratch for every funeral, applying for a new permit for a new location every time.”
While waiting for the matter to be addressed by authorities, humanist celebrants have pursued two solutions: funerals at the home of the deceased or at the cemetery itself.
“Neither solution is ideal. Not many have enough space in the home to be able to host a funeral; in fact, we have only had one such funeral, so far. And, of course, the same can be said about holding the ceremony at the actual grave. Too many conditions come into play, including space and weather considerations,” he adds.
One of the earliest such ceremonies to be held was that of well-known journalist Julian Manduca, who died in 2005. His brother Philip Manduca, a lawyer, recalls finding no problems holding the ceremony at the Addolorata itself.
“My brother had requested a non-religious ceremony and so we held a celebration on site, before the burial. I do not remember needing any permits or anything of the sort. That is where my brother was going to be buried, anyway, so it was more a case of asking people to come directly to the Addolorata cemetery. Of course, space did present a challenge,” Dr Manduca remembers.
More recently, humanist funerals were also held in the garden of a large private villa and within a quarry – both required a permit, which was duly released.
And, although Malta Humanist Association representatives were hopeful that talks with Addolorata cemetery were going to yield fruit and a space for such ceremonies identified, proceedings have once again stalled as the cemetery is in process of switching to public-private ownership.
Meantime, the dilemma of relatives and celebrants remains: how to honour the wishes of the deceased in the absence of a proper legal framework?
“If a person does not wish to be buried through a religious ceremony, they have every right to have that wish fulfilled. As things stand, however, it is very difficult to implement this right,” Mr Colombo concluded.