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A profile of one participant in the Lay Them to Rest free committal program.

When should you make your arrangements at the cemetery? The answer is different for each person. Here is one story.

In March 2023 the USCCB Committee on Doctrine responded to a question that has been popping up here and there about two new ways of treating human remains. One of these ways, alkaline hydrolysis, dissolves the flesh and flushes the liquid residue down the sewer, allowing bones to be pulverized as with cremation. The other, composting results in a cubic yard of dirt that bears no resemblance to a body, so there is nothing to bury. Neither alkaline hydrolysis nor composting respect the body in the way called for by the Catholic faith, according to the bishops. More and more states may legalize these practices – often touted as “green” – but Catholics should not take part in them.

Before he died, Bishop Robert Morlino asked Msgr. James Bartylla to preach his funeral homily. He gave these brief instructions: “Don’t canonize me!” No doubt this guidance was inspired by a profound faith as well as realistic self-knowledge, but maybe even more so by a familiarity with current tendencies at funerals.