VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- When archdiocesan Catholic Cemeteries director Peter Nobes first heard composting might emerge as an eco-friendly burial alternative, he thought it was a crazy idea.

Peel police are investigating a rash of thefts at three Catholic cemeteries in Mississauga, Ont., where thieves have made off with bronze vases from gravesites.

An essential obligation in the life of any diocese is to ensure the reverent care of its dead. For the Archdiocese of Toronto, the Irish potato famine and a local typhus epidemic forced it to accelerate its thinking on this important duty in the earliest days of its history.

TORONTOÌý-ÌýCome September the first Catholic funeral home in the Archdiocese of Toronto will open its doors at Holy Cross Cemetery.

TORONTO - With the opening last month of a new green burial option in the Greater Toronto Area, eco-conscious families now have more choices for burying their loved ones.

ItöÏÓãÊÓƵapp just that itöÏÓãÊÓƵapp not an option — yet — at a Catholic cemetery.

When Meadowvale Cemetery opened its green burial section in Brampton, Ont., in June, it was the first of its kind in the GTA. But it won’t be too long before Catholic Cemeteries — Archdiocese of Toronto follows suit.