“This Dust Was Once the Man,” wrote the poet Walt Whitman in 1871. Whitman was eulogizing President Abraham Lincoln, who had died just six years before. In his poem, he acknowledged what we all know: that when a loved one dies, his or her mortal remains rapidly decompose. In Genesis 3:19, God addresses Adam, saying, “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
But when a loved one dies, how should you dispose of the body? Most Americans choose between burial in a coffin or cremation. If the body is cremated, a family can choose between scattering the ashes and burial in an urn. Beginning in 2027, though, California will join Colorado, Oregon, and Washington in offering a third option: In those four states, surviving family members will be able to compost the guy and use the resultant “soil” to fertilize a shade tree.
On Sunday, September 18, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 351, the controversial plan to permit the composting of human remains. Democrat Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who sponsored the legislation, argued that human composting is more economical and more eco-friendly than traditional burial methods. It will, she added, help to reduce overcrowding in cemeteries.
Here’s how it works: When the bill takes effect in 2027, Californians will be able to choose natural organic reduction, a method in which human remains are placed in a reusable steel vessel and covered with wood chips, alfalfa and other biodegradable materials. In that microbe- and bacteria-enriched environment, the body will naturally decompose over a 30- to 45-day period, breaking down until it’s reduced to a nutrient-dense soil. That “soil” will then be returned to the family, who may choose to sprinkle it in their backyard garden or donate it to a conservation site.
The Catholic bishops of California voiced strong opposition to Assembly Bill 351 when it was first introduced. Kathy Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, called human composting an “unfortunate spiritual, emotional, and psychological distancing from the deceased.”
“We believe,” explained California Catholic Conference spokesperson Steve Pehanich, “that ‘transformation’ of the remains would create an emotional distance rather than a reverence” for the remains. Pehanich added that even cremated remains must “… remain in a communal place befitting of the dignity inherent in the human body and its connection to the immortal soul.”
Catholic teaching about burial and cremation
Jesus’ Resurrection confirmed the hope deep in the human heart that there is an eternal future for both our body and our soul. And it is Jesus’ unique claim about the destiny of our human bodies that underlies the Church’s teachings regarding burial and cremation. Christ, through his Resurrection, showed us our own future; and the Church requires that the deceased body be treated with reverence and great dignity.
It’s important to note the Catholic Church’s historic and continued respect for the remains of the deceased. Granted, the Church’s official position has changed: Before 1963, the Church insisted that Catholics follow only the manner of Christ’s burial by either entombing or burying the body. Even today, the Church acknowledges that “cremation does not hold the same value” as this traditional way of allowing the body to go gently back into the earth (Order of Christian Funerals).
But the revised Code of Canon Law published in 1983 helps Catholics to understand that the 1963 lifting of the prohibition forbidding Catholics to cremate their deceased loved one’s remains was never intended as an endorsement:
The Church earnestly recommends the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed; it does not, however, forbid cremation unless it has been chosen for reasons which are contrary to Church teaching. (Canon 1176)
The Church now allows for cremation of the body, providing that family members making that decision are not doing so because they fear the body is lost forever and has no future together in Christ with the immortal soul.
Cremation quickly reduces the body to about four to ten pounds of bone fragments. The Church requires that these remains of the body be placed in a respectful vessel and treated in the exact same way that a family would treat a body in a casket.
Since the human body has an eternal destiny in any form, the Church requires that cremated remains of a body be buried or entombed immediately after the funeral in the same timely manner as a body.
And there are rules to be followed:
• Cremated remains of a loved one are not to be scattered, kept at home or divided into other vessels among family members, just as it is clear that these practices would desecrate a body in a casket.
• The Church allows for burial at sea, providing that the cremated remains of the body are buried in a heavy container and not scattered.
All of these teachings on the treatment of cremated remains of the body correspond with the Christian’s foundational belief in eternal life – both body and soul – in Jesus Christ among the Communion of Saints.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (997) explains:
In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection.
Nowhere in its teaching – in the Catechism, in the Code of Canon Law, or in any official pronouncement – does the Catholic Church even imagine the disposal methods proposed in the current era. Human composting and other methods of natural organic reduction such as aquamation (water cremation) are, therefore, expressly prohibited.
Related at CWR:
• “Death, hope, and resurrection: A conversation with Dr. Scott Hahn” (May 27, 2020) by Paul Senz
• “Wisconsin Senate approves ‘water cremation’ for human use” (May 11, 2021). Joseph M. Hanneman
• “Dioceses offer free interment to encourage proper burial of cremated bodies” (November 1, 2020) by Joseph M. Hanneman
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Although it’s being sold as a way to keep the loved one “alive” in a plant or tree it is really another example of how the left sees the human being. For them the human is a plague on the planet; killing it with our carbon emissions . They have no respect for life at all. They advocate killing the unborn in the womb or emerging from it. They advocate killing the elderly, ailing and disabled. It is no surprise that they would show no respect for the deceased.
Why does the Church approve of draining the blood from a body, disposing of it in some fashion (as it would most likely be considered a “bio hazard”), pumping the body with formaldehyde, stuffing cotton up the nose, placement of a mouth former.
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This does not sound any more respectful to me than the procedure the Church condemns.
I agree — embalming (and then making up the corpse to look like a doll) hardly seems respectful, either.
I think it’s ridiculous too but unfortunately embalming is required by law in some places. Thankfully not where my husband passed away & I was able to skip that. Many funeral expenses are add-ons that are not required but are either requested by the family or marketed by a funeral home.
But does the Church complain about legally required embalming? Uh, no. And as noted, relics of Saints (including bone) do seem to get parceled out as opposed to buried respectfully
I don’t know if that’s something the Church should complain about or not but saints’ relics are meant to be revered and respected.
So…it is okay to scatter a Saint’s bones but not a “regular” person’s? But…what if that “regular” person ends up being Sainted?
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I don’t think the Church can have it both ways. And I just don’t see how the Church can say “Oh, this composting is disrespectful” and then stay silent as blood is drained, declared a biohazard (as surely it must be) and dumped in some kind of sewer system, or incinerated, and then chemicals are pumped into the body.
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Some countries in Europe are talking about grave “recycling” and “overcrowding.” The Church has quite the theological conundrum on its (Her) hands
Saints relics are often included in a niche in church altars, or they are encased and venerated to encourage the people. Thats not exactly “parceled out”. Nor is it being treated with disrespect like being kept in a vase in a drawer in the living room. Its usually pretty clear well in advance that a “regular person” might end up as a candidate for sainthood. Your average Joe is rarely among that number.The church is ok with cremation as long as it is not being done to deny the resurrection. Thats also well different than “composting” which is essentially not treating the body with respect. Compost after all, is refuse. AS far as embalming, what can be more respectful than to have the body in a condition resembling life to bring comfort to surviving family members? Blood is not a whole human being but merely a component.
Check out a “green burial” where you are shrouded in a natural fiber like cotton or wool, no embalming – but there may be restrictions in your state as far as how long before burial. Push up the daisies this way.
The composting seems kinda weird and the tree eventually dies as well.
Same thing as human composting, different receptacle. Why are you okay with one (green burial) and not the other (human composting)?
One step removed from “Solyent Green.”
Reading this article made me consider the practice of distributing the relics of saints. If it is prescribed by the church that the body is “not to be scattered, kept at home or divided into other vessels among family members, just as it is clear that these practices would desecrate a body in a casket.” Why then does the church allow the parts of saints to be divided among the church, to be placed in alters or monstrances?
Well, if the Catholic Church disapproves, because reasons, it means that Catholics will do it.
The article says the remains can be scattered in para 2
But this is not correct
That is in reference to how cremation is handled outside of the Catholic Church. The article later explains that the Church teaches, “Cremated remains of a loved one are not to be scattered, kept at home or divided into other vessels among family members…”
http://www.firelesscremation.com enables the body to be beneficially returned to the earth, without harming survivors. These for new Sustainable Funeral options show respect for the deceased and the loving.
Regarding the care of remains, anybody think Catholic cemeteries should make burial or entombment more affordable?
Is it better to be trapped in a concrete box, 6 feet under ground only to decompose into mush or decompose and placed in a forest or cemetery above ground supporting plants, trees and God’s creatures that live off of the flora. I think the Good Lord will treat my soul in a forgiving and loving way when I finally leave this earth no matter how my body decomposes.