Catholic Church bans the scattering of cremated ashes

The Vatican issued guidelines that prohibit the scattering of the ashes of cremated Catholics. The newly released instructions also said that the ashes should not be divided or kept at home but at a sacred place approved by the Church.

Cremation was approved by the Vatican in 1963, stating that it is only allowed as long as it does not entail a denial of the resurrection.

The guidelines warned against "new ideas contrary to the Church's faith."

It stated that the Church would not "condone attitudes or permit rites that involve erroneous ideas about death, such as considering death as the definitive annihilation of the person, or the moment of fusion with Mother Nature or the universe, or as a stage in the cycle of regeneration, or as the definitive liberation from the 'prison' of the body.'"

The instructions further stated that ashes can only be kept at home in extraordinary cases. It also forbade the division of the ashes among family members or keeping the remains in lockets or other mementos.

The document noted that scattering the ashes in the air, land or sea gave the appearance of "pantheism, naturalism or nihilism."

It maintained that those who chose to be cremated for reasons that contradict Christian beliefs must be denied a Christian funeral.

The document was authored by Cardinal Gerhard Mueller. It was dated Aug. 15, 2016 and it said that Pope Francis approved it on March 18, 2016.

At a Vatican briefing, Mueller was asked if the pope had any reservations about the new instructions especially about prohibiting family members from keeping the cremated ashes at home.

"The dead body isn't the private property of relatives, but rather a son of God who is part of the people of God. We have to get over this individualistic thinking," he replied.

The Cremation Association of North America has reported that the U.S. cremation rate reached 48.6 percent in 2015. It predicted that the rate will reach 54.3 percent by the year 2020.