Daily Breakfast #541 – Ashes to Ashes
Frogs, video editing, new Godspeed episodes, lack of sleep, Prison Break, Burials and cremation: what is the position of the Catholic Church?
Links: iPadre podcast with Fr. Jay Finelli
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I recently went to a Catholic funeral here in the States. They had a coffin for the funeral, but then had the body cremated and buried the ashes in the family plot at the Catholic cemetery. I don’t know whether or not that teaching is only coming from the USCCB and not from the Vatican. It would seem, though, that if the USCCB was promoting that, then surely they would have to have approval from the Holy See.
Jayna, that practice is allowed everywhere. I was wondering if the prohibition of scattering the ashes was a universal one or a local one.
A good book on the subject of the resurrection from the dead is “The Incorruptibles” by Joan Carroll Cruz. Why else would the bodies of these great saints be preserved by God, if not for the fact that one day they will literally be united with their souls in heaven?
For some reason, we got on this topic at my recent SFO retreat. Our priest said it is prohibited to scatter ashes. Cremation is permitted but it must be followed by proper burial of the urn. Our Monastery of the Holy Spirit is launching a natural cemetery. It is for simple coffins, no embalming, and a simple flat slab marker. They are discussing setting aside an area for us Secular Franciscans if interested. There is also an area set aside for burial of cremation remains. http://www.honeycreekwoodlands.com/Welcome/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Since the major cities in Europe are much older than those in the US, I would expect European cemeteries to be somewhat crowded. I was wondering if cremation was more popular in Europe or maybe even if some kind of “cemetery re-use” is practiced. Father, could you enlighten me?