DW-WORLD readers had divergent views on an article reporting on a German cardinal's warning against alternative burial trends such as cremation, burying urns or scattering ashes.
German Cardinal Lehmann would like death done the traditional way
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It's all very well telling us to go back to traditional burials. There isn't enough land in London, and in any case, dying is expensive business. If the Bishops can get the undertakers to lower their fees, then they can tell us what to do. But when your average funeral, i.e. Cremation, in London is £1,500, a burial is out of the question when having to buy land -- Una Barry
In the US, where a "traditional" funeral can cost significantly more than $7000, several books have been published pointing out that there is no law preventing individual citizens from building their own coffins and preparing the bodies of their deceased for burial, themselves. The only thing a mortician can do that a private citizen can't is to "embalm" a body -- a practice which was shown to be totally unnecessary over 50 years ago. With a state permit, you can even bury the person yourself, on your own property. There's even a company that sells "cardboard coffins" that rapidly biodegrade. There is also a company that takes the cremated remains of an individual and "compresses" them into an artificial diamond. I thought that this was a nice idea. I'm generally glad to see these alternatives made available, because, at least in the US -- and it sounds like in Germany as well -- the mortuary business has become a massive rip-off. -- Tom Read, Texas, United States