Vatican Prefers Burial and Opposes Scattering Ashes

Lord knows Christians are scattering ashes in locations that are both meaningful and beautiful. Favorite fishing holes, golf courses, mountain vistas, parks and beyond. It doesn’t seem to matter where they as far as the Vatican is concerned. no where is good enough!

The second Italian-language edition of the ‘Funeral Rites’, produced by the Vatican Publishing House, was presented recently at the headquarters of Vatican Radio. Among other things, the new edition contains fully revised biblical texts and prayers.

The first innovation refers to the visit to the family, which was not part of the earlier edition. Msgr Angelo Lameri of the National Liturgical Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference, explained how “for a priest this a moment to share in the suffering, to listen to the mourning relatives, to learn about certain aspects of the deceased’s life with a view to a correct and personalised presentation during the funeral”.

Thou Should Not Scatter!

Another change involves the revised and enriched ritual for the closing of the coffin; with a number of different texts for various situations: an elderly person, a young person, or someone who has died unexpectedly.

Other changes involve the pronouncement of words recalling of the deceased at the moment of the committal, and the introduction of a broad range of possibilities for the prayer of the faithful.

However the most significant new departure, contained in the appendix of the book, concerns cremation. Msgr Lameri explained that the issue of cremation had been placed in an appendix to highlight the fact that the Church, “although she does not oppose the cremation of bodies, when not done ‘in odium fidei’, continues to maintain that the burial of the dead is more appropriate, that it expresses faith in the resurrection of the flesh, nourishes the piety of the faithful and favors the recollection and prayer of relatives and friends”.

In exceptional cases, the rites normally celebrated at the cemetery chapel or the tomb may be celebrated at the cremation site, and it is recommended that the coffin be accompanied to that site. One particularity important aspect is that “cremation is considered as concluded when the urn is deposited in the cemetery”. This is because,
although the law does allow ashes to be scattered in the open or conserved in places other than a cemetery, “such practices … raise considerable doubts as to their coherence to Christian faith, especially when they conceal pantheist or naturalistic beliefs”.

The new ‘Funeral Rites’ also focuses on the search for the meaning of death. Concluding the presentation, Bishop Alceste Catella, president of the Episcopal Commission for Liturgy, explained that “the book is testament to the faith of believers and to the importance of respect and ‘pietas’ towards the deceased, respect for the human body even when dead. It is testament to the pressing need to cultivate memory and to have a specific place in which to place the body or the ashes, in the profound certainty that this is authentic faith and authentic humanism”.

Here at Cremation Solutions we understand people are going to do what they want and often for disregard for the the rules of their church leaders. In the Jewish faith for example, cremation is strictly forbidden, yet I recent spoke recently to the owner of a Jewish funeral home in Florida who said he is now cremating 35% of the Jews he serves. He does not promote cremation at all, yet people continue to request it. Next thing you know dogs will be living with cats and watching kitty porn!

Christians now can choose to be scattered in the holiest land in all the world. Funeral homes are now working with a company called Holyland Ash Scattering. The company makes it easy to be scattered in their own private memorial scattering garden in Israel. Right along side the Jesus trail, where Jesus lived and taught his followers. People you use this service to return to the holy land are thrilled to be able to lay to rest the earthly remains of their loved ones on such sacred and protected grounds. Survivors can make the pilgrimage in the future and visit the memorial garden and reflect on the life that was, as they gaze out over the sea of Galilee. A popular trend now for people who choose to scatter, is to retain a portion of the ashes. With so many using cremation jewelry to keep and hold their loved one close to their heart and keepsake sized urns. I wonder what the Vatican thinks of people wearing jewelry that holds a portion of ashes. We may have to wait a couple hundred years to find out.

Scattering Ashes in the Holy Land
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3 thoughts on “Vatican Prefers Burial and Opposes Scattering Ashes”

  1. The FAA (Federal Aviation Association) has a list of regulations for the pilot and aircraft in aerial ash scatterings. The local government agencies have regulations for scattering ashes at sea. If scattering by foot, you will need to get permission from the property owner or controlling agency if in a National Forest. If you do not have permission to scatter on public or private property, it could be considered trespassing, which could be subject to a fine or persecution. However, the ashes of your loved one would forever be in a status of trespassing. We recommend scattering in a place that is approved and permitted.

  2. He said that scattering ashes in the countryside or at sea was a “pantheistic communion with nature in death, which is not part of our religion” — a belief held by many priests.

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