What does the Church think about the Sedlec Ossuary and Capela dos Ossos?

[sidetrack]

Found out about these places…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capela_dos_Ossos

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

And I got to say that I’m like dumbfounded.Are these places technically fit to carry out regular Masses. Man,out of all the things critics can use againest Catholicism when bringing up it’s past this is something that if they’ve ever used agianest me I’d pretty stumped as to how to respond to this:shrug:.What’s the Church’s stand on these places?..

 

[choliks]

Found out about these places…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capela_dos_Ossos

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

And I got to say that I’m like dumbfounded.Are these places technically fit to carry out regular Masses. Man,out of all the things critics can use againest Catholicism when bringing up it’s past this is something that if they’ve ever used agianest me I’d pretty stumped as to how to respond to this:shrug:.What’s the Church’s stand on these places?..

I think the Church is fine with this because they belong to religious orders and its their expression of their spirituality.

 

[wasserfall]

Found out about these places…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capela_dos_Ossos

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

And I got to say that I’m like dumbfounded.Are these places technically fit to carry out regular Masses. Man,out of all the things critics can use againest Catholicism when bringing up it’s past this is something that if they’ve ever used agianest me I’d pretty stumped as to how to respond to this:shrug:.What’s the Church’s stand on these places?..

The better question: What’s wrong with them?

It used to be quite common for people (especially priests and religious) to have a few bones lying around as a reminder of death and judgment.

Or, approaching it another way: Suppose you have a monastery with a limited number of burial places. When they’re all full, do you just open the oldest grave and toss the old bones out in the woods before burying the newly dead? Or do you do something more reverent with the bones, like place them in the Church?

 

[choliks]

And these are not bones from massacre victims or something like that. These are the bones of their brothers.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

You are confusing burial practices in Europe, where land is scarce and at a premium, with North America, where land is plentiful and inexpensive as compared to Europe. First of all, until recently, funerals and burials are not as elaborate as in the US-where their elaborateness has been promoted by a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Funerals are much simpler and more religious in nature.
Land for burial is very limited in many parts of Europe. For example, it is not uncommon in the State of Bavaria in Germany for a family to have a plot holding two to four persons side by side that has been used for several hundreds of years. In these plots, the dead are stacked in wood coffins one on top of another 3 or 4 bodies deep. Since embalming is not commonplace, the bodies rapidly deteriorate in the grave. When someone in the family dies, they dig up the oldest grave, remove all of the remains and place the new corpse at the bottom of the grave and place the undeteriorated coffins on top of the new one. Since the coffins are almost always made of wood they rapidly deteriorate along with the body. If there are any loose bones, they are removed and placed in an ossuary-usually in the basement of the Church attached to the grave yard.
Only a millionaire or notable person such as a Bishop would have a funeral and burial approaching anything like those we consider average in the United States.

 

[The_Scott]

When these were made, death was very common, and seeing the dead was not at all seen as gross. We all die, eventually. This was, in part, simply a reminder that we are all mortal.

 

[benjohnson]

A a Lutheran, I think it’s a bit over the top, but otherwise perfectly fine.

We need reminders in this modern age to remember our eventual death and the hope of life everlasting.

*Life is short, and shortly it will end;
Death comes quickly and respects no one,
Death destroys everything and takes pity on no one.
To death we are hastening, let us refrain from sinning.

If you do not turn back and become like a child,
And change your life for the better,
You will not be able to enter, blessed, the Kingdom of God.
To death we are hastening, let us refrain from sinning. *