Bodies at the Margin

An Anthropology of Post-mortem Exclusion and the Ecclesiastical Management of Suicide in Sigüenza.

Abstract

This article examines the diachronic evolution of the Catholic Church's perception and treatment of suicide. Historically, condemnation was severe, equated with homicide, which led to the systematic denial of ecclesiastical burial and the relegation of the deceased to "non-cemeteries." Normative frameworks such as the Code of Canon Law of 1917 and, subsequently, the Synod of Sigüenza of 1948 ratified this exclusion. However, from the Second Vatican Council onward, and under the growing influence of the medical and social sciences, the Church adopted a more compassionate stance. The Code of Canon Law of 1983 eliminated specific sanctions, permitting funeral rites and placing trust in divine mercy, by recognizing that "grave psychic disturbances" may diminish individual responsibility.

Records from Sigüenza (1940s–50s) reveal that authorization for burial depended on a presumption of "mental alienation," often supported by medical testimony, though exclusion persisted in the absence of such evidence. The case of Tomás Andrés (1917) illustrates the rigidity of pre-conciliar norms and the social hierarchies at play, in which his act would have warranted the opening of a formal inquiry to determine whether ordinary ecclesiastical burial was appropriate. The study highlights the socio-religious transformations underlying post-mortem exclusion practices.