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In any cemetery in Rhode Island, you will be sure to find some visitors at the graves of their loved ones. They might be praying for them or just stopping to recall their influence on their lives. For those who have ever made such a visit, you know what consolation it brings. Honoring the past reminds us of the value of the present moment. Honoring those who came before us — and having a place to pay them respect — conforms to the dignity of the human person.
The recently introduced bill in the R.I. General Assembly which would regulate — without prohibiting — alternatives to burial, such as alkaline hydrolysis and human composting, fails to avoid what Pope Francis calls the “throw-away culture.” Any practice which would make impossible the burial of the body or cremains of a person falls short of the respect due to the bodily integrity of every human being. Catholics recognize in this dispensation the truth about the human person created body and soul and, through Baptism, destined for bodily resurrection.
But no one should need the Church to tell them that society flourishes when people respect the dead. Honoring the dead means allowing for their burial. Even after cremation, human remains can be buried. Whatever the benefits of these alternatives, they do not allow for the reverent burial of the dead and thus fall short of proper respect for the dignity of the human person. This season, when Christians ponder the Resurrection, presents a most inopportune moment to regulate practices contrary to this joyful hope.
