This Priest is Searching for Mass Graves of Jews and Roma People
Time is running out to find the more than 1 million Jews and Roma people buried in mass graves who were killed during World War II. At the same time, mass graves are turning...
Category: Death
Would You Get Buried in a Pod?
With growing concerns over the ecology, two Italian designers are working to revive what they see as a dying art: burial. ROBERT DUNCAN looks at the process of a ‘green burial’ and what the...
Are We Making Too Much of Ashes?
From Glenda Beukes, Johannesburg – I read with sadness and amusement what Fr Chris Townsend wrote about scattering ashes (“Don’t ninja-dump granny over a wall”, November 16). The Church’s guidelines on disposing ashes are wise...
Don’t Ninja-Dump Granny Over a Wall
Fr Chris Townsend looks at the practice of cremation and how some take the idea too far. I love this Month of Prayer for the Dead. It holds a special part in my...
Church: Cremation is OK, but T&Cs Apply
Professing belief in the resurrection of the dead and affirming that the human body is an essential part of a person’s identity, the Catholic Church insists that the bodies of the deceased be treated...
We Have the Hope of the Resurrection
Visiting a cemetery on the feast of All Souls can evoke feelings of loss and sadness, but for Christians marking the feast, it also is an affirmation of hope in the resurrection, Pope Francis...
English Bishops launch ‘The Art of Dying Well’
Bishops in England and Wales turned to the Instagram social networking site as part of project to educate Catholics about the “art of dying well”. A website and Instagram page were launched to offer...
Cardinal: I’ll allow funerals for euthanasia deaths
Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec said he has no intention to follow in the steps of his fellow Canadian bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories in refusing funerals for those who asked to...
Where do our Souls go after Death?
The soul is defined as ‘a pure spirit, subject of thought, distinct from the body, that survives bodily death’ (Dictionary of the Bible, by JL McKenzie SJ). The physicist Paul Davies suggests that ‘the...
Behind Empty Eyes
For most people, one of the great fears is to suffer an accident or health crisis that would leave them in a so-called vegetative state. When confronted with such an eventuality, the response often...
Let’s Decode Suicide
Suicide is a terrible way to die and it leaves a residue of pain, unanswered questions, anger and guilt for those who remain behind. It is still something we do not speak about but,...
Dealing with Loss
The month of November, which begins with All Souls Day, places a focus on caring for those who experience loss. So it is a good time to reflect on the topic of lost and...
