Vatican issues new document on Christian burial and cremation

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Tuesday published a new instruction on the burial of the dead and on the conservation of the ashes in cases of cremation.

The instruction reiterates the long held view that the Church is not opposed to the practice of cremation, though it continues to recommend that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places.

However the new document insists that ashes should not be kept in private houses and that the scattering of ashes on land or at sea is not permitted.

Please click here for the full English text of the new instruction from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.