THE VATICAN HAS urged Catholics not to scatter the ashes of the dead after cremation and instead to store them in places approved by the Church.
The new guidelines also say that the ashes of the dead should not be kept at home, rather at a cemetery or other sacred place.
Doing so reduces “the risk of shielding the dead from prayers for them and the memory of their family and the Christian community”, German cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, the prefect of the doctrinal watchdog, said yesterday.
“We also avoid eventually forgetting (them) and the lack of respect which can happen, especially after the passing of the first generation.”
We want to know: Do you agree with the Vatican’s views on ashes?
Contains reporting from © – AFP 2016
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