The corpse-dissolving technology being proposed as an option to burial does not follow the Church’s teachings as it fails to respect bodily remains, according to Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna.
“I don’t think that this is in line with the Church’s views on respecting the body,” he said, adding that he would be discussing the matter with bishops and foreign clerics who had witnessed the introduction of similar technologies.
Known as alkaline hydrolysis, the funeral alternative would see the introduction of large metal baths which, using a mixture of warm water and potassium hydroxide, turn body tissue into“thick coffee syrup”.
Once melted down, the large baths normally flush the body tissue into the municipal sewage system or recycle it as a high-protein fertiliser.
“Once a person is baptised, his body must be given the reverence it deserves in death. I don’t think that flushing it away with the rest of our waste meets this expectation,” the bishop said, reiterating that the Church was still to form an official opinion on the matter.
He also raised concerns over the effect of the method on those left to mourn the departed.
Often referred to as the alternative to cremation, the method does not destroy the bones. Once the fluid is drained, the entire skeleton is left behind. This is normally ground and given to families much like the ashes after a cremation.
Mgr Scicluna said the Church’s opinion on spreading ashes was clear.
“When it comes to ashes, or in this case ground bones, the Church believes these should be buried. We do not feel that spreading them or keeping them at home falls in line with the Church’s views,” he said, adding that the Church had no problem with cremation as long as this was not done in negation of Catholic beliefs.
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