Free Republic

'(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...

Wisconsin senators approved a bill earlier this week allowing dead bodies to be dissolved in a chemical bath and disposed like sewage. The bill, Senate Bill 228, authorizes a practice called alkaline hydrolysis, or “water cremation,” which liquifies the human body using a mixture of water, heat, and chemical agents, leaving only bones behind. The liquid is then dumped into the sewage system or boiled off, and bones can be crushed and deposited in an urn. The Republican-led Senate passed the legislation without debate on Tuesday over the objection of the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin.