harperharmer
New member
Last June, my late mother's brother flew from the US to the UK at short notice to attend her Requiem Mass in the Traditional Rite. A year later, sadly, we are planning on flying to attend an event to mark my uncle's last wishes, on the anniversary of my mother's Requiem, namely his ashes being scattered at sea by his family: he died just before Christmas. There was no funeral. He was non-religious but not hostile to Christianity or Catholicism. Of my late uncle's family, his two sons are also non-religious, but his daughter is an active evangelical Christian: she has moreover, (and in her typical generous-hearted way) paid for the cost of our flights. What would the forum advise be our best way of marking my dear uncle's life at the event planned? Praying for his soul (silently) but with what degree of participation with spontaneous prayers of others? not actively participating in scattering ashes of course (ie physically scattering them personally, which we would refuse to do), but simultaneously not causing offence to my relatives or the church? I doubt there will be a "minister" of any kind: this is a private event for family only. It seems the general consensus of the internet that one is permitted to attend non-Catholic events to commemorate deceased loved ones and that we must honour and pray for our dead, but I understand church teaching on the scattering of ashes is that it is not permitted.
