Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church’s position on Water/Natural/Green Cremation (alkaline hydrolysis).

In March of 2023, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a document guiding all American Catholics “On the Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains.”  The answers below come directly from that document and from Canon Law.

Is cremation allowed?
As for cremation, the Church permits the practice “unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.”  Permitted but not preferred.

When isn’t cremation allowed?
Canon Law 1176 §3 “The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed; nevertheless, the Church does not prohibit cremation unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine.”

Why is it better to do a bodily burial rather than cremation?
Burial is considered by the Church to be the most appropriate way of manifesting reverence and respect for the body of the deceased because it “honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit” and clearly expresses our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body. Accompanying the body itself to the place of its rest reaffirms in the hearts and minds of believers and faith of the Church that it is this body that will rise.  The preferred method for honoring the remains of the dead, however, remains burial of the human body: “The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed.”

Can I hold on to my wife’s/husband’s/mom’s/dad’s ashes?
The basic requirement for showing proper respect to the ashes of the deceased is that they “be laid to rest in a sacred place” (no. 5).  They may not be kept permanently at home or divided among various family members (no. 6). They may not be scattered “in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way” (no. 7). They may not be carried around encased in jewelry or other mementos (no. 7). They must be put in a sacred place, usually a cemetery, though it could possibly be a church or some other area that has been “set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority” (no. 5). Such a placement shows our respect for the last remains of the deceased and manifests our Christian hope in the resurrection of the body. 

Can we choose “natural water/green” cremation?
In recent years, newer methods and technologies for the disposition of the bodies of the deceased have been developed and presented as alternatives to both traditional burial and cremation.  A number of these newer methods and technologies pose serious problems in that they fail to manifest the respect for the last remains that Catholic faith requires. 

The guidance offered by the Congregation regarding burial and cremation reflects the Church’s overarching concern that due respect be shown to the bodily remains of the deceased in a way that gives visible witness to our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body. Unfortunately, the two most prominent newer methods for the disposition of bodily remains that are proposed as alternatives to burial and cremation, alkaline hydrolysis and human composting, fail to meet this criterion.

Not unlike cremation, both techniques work by dramatically accelerating the process of decomposition of the human body. In alkaline hydrolysis, the body is placed in a metal tank containing 
about 100 gallons of a chemical mixture of water and alkali and then subjected to both high temperature and high pressure in order to speed decomposition. In a matter of hours, the body is dissolved, except for some bone material. 

The major difference between these newer practices and cremation is found in what is left over at the conclusion of the process. After the cremation process, all the human remains are gathered together and reserved for disposition. The bone fragments, reduced to powder, can be placed in an urn and interred in a sacred place. After the alkaline hydrolysis process, there are also remnants of the bones that can be pulverized and placed in an urn. That is not all that remains, however. In addition, there are 100 gallons of brown liquid into which the greater part of the body has been dissolved. This liquid is treated as wastewater and poured down the drain into the sewer system (in certain cases it is treated as fertilizer and spread over a field or forest). This procedure does not show adequate respect for the human body, nor express hope in the resurrection. 

Can we choose “natural/human composting” instead of embalming or fire cremation?
In human composting, the body is laid in a metal bin and surrounded by plant material (such as alfalfa, wood chips, straw, etc.) that fosters the growth of microbes and bacteria to break down the body. Heat and oxygen are added to accelerate the decomposition process. After about a month the body is entirely decomposed into soil.

The end result of the human composting process is also disconcerting, for there is nothing left but compost, nothing that one can point to and identify as remains of the body. The body and the plant material have all decomposed together to yield a single mass of compost. What is left is approximately a cubic yard of compost that one is invited to spread on a lawn or in a garden or in some wilderness location. Like alkaline hydrolysis, human composting is not sufficiently respectful of the human body. In fact, the body is completely disintegrated. There is nothing distinguishably left of the body to be placed in a casket or an urn and laid to rest in a sacred place where the Christian faithful can visit for prayer and remembrance.