In yet another move to dehumanize humanity, some of the most liberal states have already made legal turning Grandad, Aunt Suzie and cousin Fred into compost. Thankfully, at least those particular states will wait until the aforementioned individuals are dead first. *Sarcasm, off*
As it turns out, the questionable lawmakers in Washington, Oregon and Colorado have made legal adding the dearly departed to compost heaps. Coming to a surprise to no one, California and New York are toying with the same idea.
Personally speaking as a (traditional) Catholic, one of the Corporal Works of Mercy is to bury the dead. This is something that doesn’t exactly leave a lot of wiggle room.
But respect for the dead isn’t something only for Catholics. Faithful Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, etc., all demand respect for the dead, to include proper and respectful burial of the same.
Of course, not limited to those who trace their lineage back to the Patriarch Abraham. Hindus, Shintoists and Buddhists (for example) show respect their dead by means of cremation, not by sending Granny to the Miracle-Gro factory to be made into a sack of potting soil.
As reported on by the Religion News Service, Alejandra Molina not only notes of certain states that have or considering turning the dearly departed into compost, she also cites that the Catholic bishops in all five of these states have come out very loudly and very publicly against this particularly disgusting practice;
Washington, Colorado and Oregon are now among the U.S. states that have legalized the process of converting human bodies into soil, a procedure the Catholic Church said fails to show “respect for the body of the deceased.” Meanwhile, California and New York are seeking to be next in line to allow human composting.
The process for composting a body was introduced by the Seattle-based company Recompose, which is now open for business after the state of Washington legalized the process in 2019. Colorado was the second state to legalize it, followed by Oregon, when Gov. Kate Brown in mid-June signed House Bill 2574 into law.
Here’s how it works: A dead body is broken down through a process known as Natural Organic Reduction by placing the body in a reusable vessel, covering it with wood chips and aerating it, which creates an environment for microbes and essential bacteria. The body, over a span of about 30 days, is fully transformed into soil.
Only for the sake of brevity, I will post only one example of Catholic bishops denouncing this practice. For specific reactions, please refer to the original article from the RNS;
The Colorado Catholic Conference is in opposition because the church “teaches that the human body is sacred and the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral society,” according to news outlets.