Oppose Human Composting
Some people are trying to legalize human composting in Maryland. This involves placing a deceased person in a container, usually metal and in a warehouse, with dirt, fungi and other materials, for weeks or months until the body breaks down. Bones may need to be manually broken down. The result is about 400 pounds of dirt with the person’s remains mixed in. That’s about the same as 36 bags of mulch. Without your knowledge, you could be walking on human remains or your kids could be playing in dirt mixed with human remains. Learn more at mdcatholic.org/humancomposting.

Blog en español aquí

Opone el Compostaje Humano
Algunas personas están intentando legalizar el compostaje humano en Maryland. Se trata de colocar a una persona fallecida en un contenedor, normalmente metálico y en un almacén, con tierra, hongos y otros materiales, durante semanas o meses hasta que el cuerpo se descomponga. Es posible que sea necesario romper los huesos manualmente. El resultado son alrededor de 400 libras de tierra con los restos de la persona mezclados. Eso es aproximadamente lo mismo que 36 bolsas de compost. Sin su conocimiento, podría estar caminando sobre restos humanos o sus hijos podrían estar jugando en tierra mezclada con restos humanos. Obtenga más información en mdcatholic.org/humancomposting.

Code of 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.

en español

1176.3: La Iglesia aconseja vivamente que se conserve la piadosa costumbre de sepultar el cadáver de los difuntos; sin embargo, no prohíbe la cremación, a no ser que haya sido elegida por razones contrarias a la doctrina cristiana.

Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo (regarding the burial of the deceased…)

By burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body, and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity.

en español

Enterrando los cuerpos de los fieles difuntos, la Iglesia confirma su fe en la resurrección de la carne,  y pone de relieve la alta dignidad del cuerpo humano como parte integrante de la persona con la cual el cuerpo comparte la historia.

On the Proper Disposition of Human Remains (March 2023)

• Summary at time of release
• Full text: On the Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains

“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 disposition of bodily remains that are proposed as alternatives to burial and cremation, alkaline hydrolysis and human composting, fail to meet this criterion.

…

“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. . . . 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.”