COLORADO SPRINGS. It’s hardly news that planning for death — or, more precisely, for what happens after it — may be the least popular to-do list item ever.

Yet consider the alternative: if a person dies without putting their wishes down on paper, they leave the funeral planning in the hands of grief-stricken family members who may or may not practice the Catholic faith. Increasingly, the Catholic Church is encouraging parents to spare their kids the anxiety of working through funeral details.