In recent weeks, the Vatican has released two documents that have raised questions among the faithful. Both were issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith with the approval of Pope Francis. The first, explained below, concerns the preservation of cremated remains.

The Dicastery’s Note repeats the Church’s long-held prohibition against scattering ashes of the deceased in nature or elsewhere. There are multiple reasons for the exclusion of this practice. Ashes retain a connection to a real person who was individually created in God’s own image (Gn 1:26-27) and thus call for an attitude of “sacred respect.” Moreover, the retention of ashes in a suitably permanent place ensures that the departed will not be “forgotten” and thereby not “excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community.” For this reason, the Church strongly retains the prescription that “ashes must be kept in a sacred space, such as a cemetery, or in an area dedicated to this purpose” by the Church.

The Note then addresses two other practices: the commingling and preservation of ashes of several deceased persons and the preservation of a portion of a deceased’s ashes by family.

The ashes of several persons can be preserved in a defined and permanent sacred place, e.g., a cemetery, provided the basic details of each person are indicated on the urn. Again, this is to guarantee that each person can be remembered in prayer.

Finally, with the permission of the diocesan bishop, family can retain a portion of a departed’s ashes provided they are reserved in a respectful place of significance to the deceased person and the greater part of the ashes rest in a sacred place.