Alternatives to burial, cremation pose serious concerns for Church

In this Lenten season that encourages reflection on mortality and the eternal, the Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) is voicing concerns about newer methods of disposition of human remains that the Church contends do not demonstrate proper dignity or respect.

 Two bills introduced at the Statehouse in this legislative session propose alkaline hydrolysis – commonly known as “water cremation” – and human composting as alternatives to burial and traditional cremation. Both stand in opposition to Catholic Church teaching on the dignity of the human body and the hope of the resurrection.

 “The Church teaches that we are a unity of body and soul, and we believe in the resurrection of the body,” said Alexander Mingus, executive director of the ICC, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Indiana. “Therefore, we place importance on how we treat the human body, influenced by our Church’s teaching on the dignity of the human person.

 “I hope that in this Lenten season, we can all reflect on some important questions: Who are we made for? What is our final resting place? What is our ultimate destiny? How we treat our body in this life has implications for the next.”

 Early in the legislative session, the ICC had concerns about House Bill 1609, which sought to legalize disposition of human remains by composting. The measure never received a hearing.

 But another alternative to traditional burial or cremation is advancing at the Statehouse – and the ICC stands alone in opposing it. House Bill 1044, which proposes the “water cremation” process of alkaline hydrolysis as an additional service that could be offered by the funeral industry in Indiana, recently passed the House on a 70-17 vote.

 If the bill is ultimately passed by the General Assembly, Indiana would become the 29th state to offer this service, which involves dissolution of a deceased body by water and a chemical solution instead of fire.

 An Indiana company – Bio-Response Solutions, Inc., of Danville – pioneered the technology used in alkaline hydrolysis, although its products cannot be used legally in the state. During testimony on House Bill 1044, lawmakers heard about some Indiana funeral directors sending bodies out of state to take advantage of the technology – most notably to Illinois for families residing in Lake County, Ind., near Chicago.

 House Bill 1044 is authored by a lawmaker who spent 40 years as a funeral director in Indiana.

 At a recent House committee hearing on the bill, Mingus presented the Catholic Church’s views on proper reverence and respect for the deceased and explained that alkaline hydrolysis, like other recent alternatives to traditional cremation, does not meet the Church’s criteria.

 “The major difference between these newer practices and cremation is found in what is left over at the conclusion of the process,” Mingus told lawmakers considering House Bill 1044. “After the traditional fire 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 bone that can be pulverized and placed in an urn,” Mingus continued. “But that’s not all that remains, however.”

 Mingus then explained the Church’s primary objection to this practice: the potentially hundreds of gallons of brown liquid into which the greater part of the body has been dissolved – liquid that is then treated as wastewater.

 “A number of (the proposed) newer methods and technologies pose serious problems in that they fail to manifest the respect for the last remains that the Catholic faith requires,” Mingus said. “Alkaline hydrolysis fails to meet the Catholic faith’s criterion 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.”

 Mingus, who speaks on behalf of the five bishops of Indiana, based his testimony on a recent document from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In 2023, the USCCB’s doctrine committee wrote that alternative methods for disposition of human bodies, including alkaline hydrolysis, fail to satisfy the Church’s requirements for demonstrating proper respect for the human person.

 In the document, the bishops reiterated the Church’s longstanding position that traditional burial is “the most appropriate way of manifesting reverence for the body of the deceased,” as it “clearly expresses our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.” The bishops added that the Church permits cremation “unless it is chosen for reasons contrary to the Catholic faith.”

 Neither alkaline hydrolysis nor human composting, which involves breaking down a body into nutrient-rich soil, meet the standards that the Church requires for dignified treatment of human remains or for demonstrating anticipation of the resurrection, the bishops wrote.

 “Accompanying the body itself to its place of rest reaffirms in the hearts and minds of believers the faith of the Church that it is this body that will rise,” the USCCB statement reads. “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 Christian faithful can visit for prayer and remembrance.”

 Only the Catholic Church has offered opposition to the legislation at the Indiana Statehouse. In a recent ICC podcast, Mingus reflected on serving as a lone voice on certain matters that bring no moral objections from society at large, and why it is still important for the Church to speak in these situations.

 “The difficult argument – yet it’s one we’re making, and it’s an argument that I think the Church has a responsibility to make – is that how we treat human bodies is a matter of public concern,” Mingus said. “Our argument is grounded in a desire to see the common good realized in society, and that how we treat human bodies – how we treat humans at any stage – is an element of the common good.”

 Mingus said ICC will continue to express its concerns with House Bill 1044 as it makes its way through the Senate.

 “If nothing else, I hope that our advocacy helps to elevate our understanding of how we should respect the human body after death.”

 To follow priority legislation of the ICC, visit www.indianacc.org. This website includes access to ICAN, the Indiana Catholic Action Network, which offers the Church’s position on key issues. Those who sign up for ICAN receive alerts on legislation moving forward and ways to contact their elected representatives.