Vatican Eases Rules on Preserving Cremation Ashes

The Vatican said on Tuesday that Catholic families may ask to preserve “a minimal part of the ashes” of a relative in a place of significance to the deceased, softening a previous mandate that ashes could be kept only in “sacred spaces” like cemeteries. The instructions come seven years after the Vatican first issued guidelines to respond to what it called an “unstoppable increase” in cremation. The guidelines banned the scattering of ashes “in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way,” and said that ashes could not be kept at home.