And it certainly isn’t a beautiful ritual.
Obviously, Protestants are afraid and repulsed by death, dead bodies, skeletons and God knows what else. Since Catholics came through the Black Death, perhaps they are inured to the horrors of dead bodies. Certainly, I’m not afraid of them and certainly believe this is a very beautiful and deep ritual.
I still can’t figure out why anyone would see this ritual as beautiful except they’ve been so conditioned to body parts and death and copses that ashes would just be one more thing to give the priest a purpose for being a Priest.
If they ever saw the truth the priesthood ceased altogether there would be no catholic church.