Vatican Eases Rules on Preservation of Cremated Ashes

Catholic families can now keep a small portion of their late relative’s remains in a place of significance, a change from previous guidelines.

The Vatican has eased its rules on the preservation of cremated ashes, allowing Catholic families to keep a small portion of their late relative’s remains in a 'place of significance' to them.
The new instructions, signed by Catholic doctrinal prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández of Argentina, come seven years after the Vatican issued guidelines stipulating that ashes must be laid to rest in a 'sacred place' and not kept at home.
The Vatican may now evaluate requests from families to keep part of the ashes in a place of meaning for the deceased, provided that every type of pantheistic, naturalistic, or nihilistic misunderstanding is ruled out.
The ashes can also now be mixed in common cinerary urns, provided that they indicate the identity of each of the deceased so as not to lose the memory of their names.
The latest issuance by the Catholic Church did not address alternative forms of disposal of human remains, such as alkaline hydrolysis and human composting.