New funeral practices in the context of Catholic theology

Abstract

The rapid development of technology, cultural changes and the growing ecological awareness of Western societies have led to the emergence of new ways of handling human remains. Alongside traditional inhumation and cremation, methods such as alkaline hydrolysis (resomation), so-called “human composting” (natural organic reduction), and various forms of “green burial” are increasingly being promoted. This article examines these practices in the light of Catholic anthropology, the theology of the body and Christian eschatology, with particular reference to the Magisterium of the Church, especially the instruction “Ad resurgendum cum Christo” and recent episcopal documents. The author presents the theological logic of the Christian funeral, emphasizing the inseparable unity of body and person, the hope of the resurrection and the symbolic role of the grave as a place of memory, prayer and hope. Against this background, resomation and natural organic reduction are subjected to critical analysis as expressions of a radical utilitarian approach to the body and as practices that risk an immanent, quasi-pantheistic vision of the human person “dissolved” into the cycle of nature. At the same time, the article points to the possibility of a properly understood “green burial” as a space for inculturation, provided that the dignity of the human body after death and the Christian concept of integral ecology are preserved.