Don’t keep cremation ashes at home, bishop tells Catholics
Church • 06:30 AM Wed Oct 14, 2020
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By:
CBCP news
A Catholic priest blesses the urns containing cremated remains at the Manila Cathedral on Oct. 11, 2020. PHOTO FROM THE MANILA CATHEDRAL
A Catholic bishop has reminded the faithful that ashes of cremated loved ones cannot be kept at home.
In a pastoral instruction issued recently, Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila said that ashes of the dead should be kept in a sacred place such as columbaria and cemeteries.
“I would like to remind everyone that it is not allowed for us to keep the urns containing the ashes in our homes permanently,” Pabillo said.
He warned of “great danger of desecration in the future”, especially when there is no one around to look after and care for the ashes.
“So the ashes should be laid to rest in columbaria in the cemeteries or in churches,” he said.
The bishop made the statement as he acknowledged the increasing number of dead being cremated due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2016, the Vatican affirmed that Catholics may be cremated but should not have their ashes scattered or kept in urns at home.