The Vatican forbade Catholics to store the ashes of the dead at home

The Catholic Church “persistently recommends” to the parishioners not to store the ashes of the deceased houses, the Vatican statement said.

“The storage of dust in a residential building is not allowed, except for exceptional cases, the decisions of which the bishop makes,” said in a statement, which also specifies that the dust cannot be divided between family members.

The Vatican insists that the Catholics keep dust in the sacred places approved by the church, for example, in a cemetery or in a church, or a place specially allotted for these purposes.

In addition, parishioners should not dispel the ashes above water or earth in order to avoid the manifestation of "pantheism, naturalism or nihilism." The Vatican also admits the refusal to the Christian rite of farewell to those who have ordered their cremation.

The application specifies that the preferred option for Catholics is the burial of the body. As Reuters notes, the Vatican has always opposed cremation, since this is not consistent with the doctrine of the resurrection of the body on the day of the Last Judgment. The Catholic Church began to allow cremation in 1963, but, the agency writes, continued to express dissatisfaction with such a practice.