Iowa Archbishop Urges Laity to ‘Liquify’ Dead Bodies Instead of Burying Them, Says It’s Better for Planet

LifeSite News ^ | 10/26/21 | Michael Haynes

[marshmallow]

'(I)sn’t traditional burial disrespectful to God’s good, green earth?'

DUBUQUE, Iowa (LifeSiteNews) – The Catholic Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa, has written to urge the faithful to reject “traditional burial methods” in favor of liquifying a corpse in order to be less “offensive” to the earth and environment.

Archbishop Michael Jackels made the argument in a letter dated October 20 entitled “Alternatives to traditional burial methods.” Making reference to the “two people” who die every second worldwide and the 2.5 million who die annually in the United States, Jackels declared that this “makes burial practices a significant environmental issue.”

'Liquify’ bodies to save the planet

Estimates indicate that “more than 130 square miles of land” would be necessary for “in-ground burials” of those predicted to die in the next two decades, he wrote, lamenting how “natural resources” are used for the coffins and vaults, and that “ground water is polluted with embalming waste.”

Archbishop Jackels further critiqued the process of cremation, a practice forbidden for Catholics until recent decades, saying each cremation “uses about 30 gallons of fuel, and both the burning and the body itself release pollutants into the air.”

Praising the Catholic Church for being “a leader in the use of green burial,” Jackels proposed “alkaline hydrolysis” as the “green” alternative.

The process, according to the archbishop, involves combining “hot water, lye, air pressure and circulation” to “liquify a corpse in a matter of hours, which can then be safely poured in the ground.”

[When do we get liberated?]

Waterworld had it right

[Deaf Smith]

If one really wants to go the "Green" route, remains would be sent to rendering plants.

It would be the ultimate of recycling.

Rendered remains could be turned into; glues, cosmetics, dog food and many other products.

Nothing will be wasted.

s/ !!

[KittyKares]

The article itself seems to have liquified. Nothing comes up for me.

[Doc91678]

Hmm... That how the Germans made soap during WWII.
Saponification is the name of the chemical reaction that produces soap. In the process, animal or vegetable fat is converted into soap (a fatty acid) and alcohol. The reaction requires a solution of an alkali (e.g., sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) in water and also heat.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

More than a few Dubuque folks are that way...

[liberalh8ter]

I will be cremated when my time comes. I've always felt that traditional burial in a cemetery with the granite headstone and perfectly manicured grounds is excessive. The Catholic cemetery my parents are buried in looks like a mafia war over the fanciest tombs, some bigger than a NYC apartment. Not for me, spread my ashes in the ocean.

[piusv]

Just the latest and greatest from the Novus Ordo sect.