Question on Catholic Internment and Ashes

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dee_burk

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I know Catholics can be cremated but cant have ashes scattered. I have seen a new thing called Bio Urn where your ashes go into a biodegradable pot containing a tree seed and the whole thing gets planted and eventually a tree sprouts out of your ashes and “viola” you are a tree…you get the picture. Would this be something a Catholic could do since the ashes arent being scattered?

Felt this would be the correct area of the forum to post this question, sorry if it is in the wrong area. Also i couldnt figure out how to post the working URL for this but its here: bigthink.com/design-for-good/this-awesome-urn-will-turn-you-into-a-tree-after-you-die
 
The thing is, people are supposed to be respectfully laid to rest.
Not recycled for another purpose.
Like many of these “innovations” , they sound cool to people who consider death and dying to be an icky subject, but really…we need to respectfully give our loved ones remains the dignity they deserve.
Everyone will be transformed in heaven. 😉
 
PC has it right. I looked into burial at sea for myself, as long as I can be assured they don’t unseal the urn, it’s okay. I just have to pick which ocean! I guess keeping everything together is the important part.

I know scattering ashes in parks, on beaches, etc is frowned upon, I’m not sure getting potted up would be considered legal in many areas.
 
dee_burk said:
Would this be something a Catholic could do since the ashes arent being scattered?%between%
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No it would not.

Essentially, cremains are to be treated with the same respect and dignity as the body. You would not hack up Uncle Frank and thrown his limbs all over the beach - this is how scattering cremains would be viewed. In a similar vein, since you would not stick an apple seed in Aunt Edna’ s belly button and dump her in the ground, you can’t “plant” someone’s remains.
 
TheDoctor said:
No it would not.

Essentially, cremains are to be treated with the same respect and dignity as the body. You would not hack up Uncle Frank and thrown his limbs all over the beach - this is how scattering cremains would be viewed. In a similar vein, since you would not stick an apple seed in Aunt Edna’ s belly button and dump her in the ground, you can’t “plant” someone’s remains.
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👍
 
dee_burk said:
I know Catholics can be cremated but cant have ashes scattered. I have seen a new thing called Bio Urn where your ashes go into a biodegradable pot containing a tree seed and the whole thing gets planted and eventually a tree sprouts out of your ashes and “viola” you are a tree…you get the picture. Would this be something a Catholic could do since the ashes arent being scattered?

Felt this would be the correct area of the forum to post this question, sorry if it is in the wrong area. Also i couldnt figure out how to post the working URL for this but its here: bigthink.com/design-for-good/this-awesome-urn-will-turn-you-into-a-tree-after-you-die
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Yes YOU CAN – the Monks at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Virginia run a green cemetary:

virginiatrappists.org/cemetery/
 
Yes YOU CAN – the Monks at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Virginia run a green cemetery.

This is indeed the correct answer. The CDW issued a statement about cremation, reproduced below.

Cremains are not to be scattered neither to the wind nor above the ground nor upon the surface of a body of water. (Note that they are also not be kept in anyone’s personal possession at home lest they eventually be discarded by someone not knowing what they are.)

They should be entombed or else they should be buried. (They can be interred at sea provided they are contained when they were deposited into the sea.) That said, they do not need to be in an indestructible container if buried and the use of a biodegradeable urn is comparable to the centuries where an unembalmed body was buried in a simple wooden box which would degrade along with the body. In fact, a number of Religious Communities to this day still bury using only a simple shroud and do not even use a casket.

What is innovative in this circumstance – and is incidental – is the burial of seed along with the cremains. This, however, does not turn the cremains into a tree nor “recycle” the cremated remains any more or less than those who planted a sapling at a grave a hundred and fifty years ago turned their buried loved one into a tree. Practically speaking, though, cemeteries would normally want to control where trees are planted, and what type of tree is planted, so as to have harmonious landscaping. Proceeding in this fashion would seem perfectly suited, however, for such an initiative as that of Holy Cross Abbey or their sister abbey, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Georgia. I have known monks from both of these communities. I suspect we shall see more of this, especially offered by monasteries having rural acreage…it would be ecologically friendly and also permit the body to await the resurrection in ground blessed and hallowed by a monastic setting.

From the instruction from the CDW:
417 The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport, and the final disposition. The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires. Whenever possible, appropriate means for recording with dignity the memory of the deceased should be adopted, such as a plaque or stone which records the name of the deceased.
 
Thanks, its not that i find death as icky, its natural and i want my body treated as a natural creation that will be returned to creation (ashes to ashes, dust to dust, carbon and nitrogen compounds with a few trace elements).

Modern burials are IMHO very disrespectful of the remains since we are filling them with nasty chemicals to “preserve” the look we had on this earth and then having to be sealed in a cement septic tank because of the toxic sludge we have turned our loved ones into. Thats icky 😦 when you really think about it.

I guess “green” as it was put is what i am looking for. I know my ashes will not turn into a tree using this bio-urn but it will leave something a lot more beneficial to our earth than goop filled cement boxes.
 
I would suggest, Dee Burk, contacting the Trappist monks at Holy Cross or Holy Spirit monastery for more information about the natural burials they offer. If you are not near either monastery, they may be able to advise you if there is a monastery in your area that is considering joining this initiative. I know several of the Benedictine abbeys in the United States are offering the possibility for laity to be buried on the grounds of their monasteries.
 
Thanks Don, i will do that. I dont think we have anything like that in my state but will check into it.
 
I manage a Catholic Cemetery and I don’t think we would allow someone to be planted along with seeds. We have a wall of one mausoleum that has special Niches for the remains or we will place in a tomb or grave. If someone was buried with seeds it would have to along the fence line and not in with the tombs and graves. I have had several strange requests such as a lady who apparently was mad at her husband’s kids and wanted him removed so she could dump him in a bayou but so far not for burying with seeds.
 
airforcemom said:
i have had several strange requests such as a lady who apparently was mad at her husband’s kids and wanted him removed so she could dump him in a bayou but so far not for burying with seeds.
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oh my…

I think another poster gave me the term i am looking for Green Internment. Doesnt have to have a tree seed or anything special, i just thought that was interesting since it would leave something beneficial to the environment. I really like trees I have planted over 50 trees on my property so far and i have 2 more in pots waiting to go into the ground, of course my goats have killed 3 and i have killed one with a weed eater…oops
 
airforcemom said:
I manage a Catholic Cemetery and I don’t think we would allow someone to be planted along with seeds. We have a wall of one mausoleum that has special Niches for the remains or we will place in a tomb or grave. If someone was buried with seeds it would have to along the fence line and not in with the tombs and graves. I have had several strange requests such as a lady who apparently was mad at her husband’s kids and wanted him removed so she could dump him in a bayou but so far not for burying with seeds.
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Airforcemom, there are Catholic cemeteries that ARE green cemeteries which allow the burial of either a body or cremated remains. These are buried in a biodegradable container. Holy Cross Abbey runs a green cemetery.
 
=dee burk;13388066]I know Catholics can be cremated but cant have ashes scattered. I have seen a new thing called Bio Urn where your ashes go into a biodegradable pot containing a tree seed and the whole thing gets planted and eventually a tree sprouts out of your ashes and “viola” you are a tree…you get the picture. Would this be something a Catholic could do since the ashes arent being scattered?
Click to expand...
Felt this would be the correct area of the forum to post this question, sorry if it is in the wrong area. Also i couldnt figure out how to post the working URL for this but its here: bigthink.com/design-for-good/this-awesome-urn-will-turn-you-into-a-tree-after-you-die
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I’m NOT a theologian; but NO:)

The goal of what you describe is to “set the body” if I may use that term; “FREE”. That action is not consistent with Catholic beliefs. Being set “free” in Catholicism would be an automatic with the 1st Judgment; which takes place immediately upon one’s death.

This happens in the sense that our Souls [intellect+ mind+ freewill which are permanently attached to our human Souls; and like God [John 4:23-24] are Eternal-Spiritual realities and explain how we emulate our God as promised in Genesis 1:26-27] are released from our bodies to face God and the 1st Judgment.

What you describe seem to Me, to have New Age teachings * sourse and ought to be avoided.

God Bless you, and thanks for asking.

Patrick*
 
PJM said:
I’m NOT a theologian; but NO:)

The goal of what you describe is to “set the body” if I may use that term; “FREE”. That action is not consistent with Catholic beliefs. Being set “free” in Catholicism would be an automatic with the 1st Judgment; which takes place immediately upon one’s death.

This happens in the sense that our Souls [intellect+ mind+ freewill which are permanently attached to our human Souls; and like God [John 4:23-24] are Eternal-Spiritual realities and explain how we emulate our God as promised in Genesis 1:26-27] are released from our bodies to face God and the 1st Judgment.

What you describe seem to Me, to have New Age teachings * sourse and ought to be avoided.

God Bless you, and thanks for asking.

Patrick*

Your answer does not make sense to me – nor is it conformed to what actually is acceptable practice within the Church.
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