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…
