Looking Ahead: Catholic Handbook for school students

Described as 'a gift for the next generation of saints' Looking Ahead has been lovingly written and designed as a companion for young people moving into those challenging teenage years. 

Covering questions of faith and science, inspirational young saints, prayers and history and so much more, this gift book can help students look ahead to a future full of all the good news that our faith has to offer!

Archbishop John Wilson says: "Enjoy this book, treasure it, share it with friends - and keep it handy so that it becomes a real companion in the years ahead."

Anna from Essex writes: "As a lay chaplain in a Catholic Secondary School, I am always looking for quality resources to recommend to our families which will help our students to better understand and deepen their faith. This well thought out, beautifully illustrated book would be an ideal gift or prize for a special occasion."

"I thoroughly recommend this book as a supportive guide for young Catholics as they embark on their secondary school journey. The content will provide encouragement and will assist them as they navigate the challenges of starting a new school," says Miss Webb Head of Theology at New Hall School.

To see a preview visit: https://issuu.com/catholictruthsociety/docs/b._looking_ahead_preview?fr=sZTk5ZjQ0OTM0NjQ

Looking Ahead is published by CTS and the Association for Catholic Women.

To order a copy see: www.ctsbooks.org/looking-ahead-book/

Greyfriars to leave Walsingham

The Greyfriars (Order of Friars Minor Conventual of Great Britain and Ireland) have announced that they are leaving the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at the end of July. 

They moved there in 2017.

Citing "a number of pressing issues" that led to the decision, the Provincial, Fr Maximilian Martin OFM Con, said in a statement: "We did not decide to leave Walsingham but rather other circumstances within our wider order… made the decision for us."

Fr Martin said there was a shortage of friars in parishes, friaries and houses. Some friars were coming very close to "burnout" due to the demands placed upon them as a result of low staffing levels.

"In order for us to live in an authentic fraternal life, in line with our Constitution, three friars is the minimum number that enables this fraternity to be realised."

Fr Martin concluded by saying that the experience of being at Walsingham had been a time of great blessing. "Change always comes along with a degree of anxiety and concern for the future," he said. 

"However let us all be in no doubt that the life and ministry of the Shrine is completely under the mantle of Our Blessed Lady and she who stays constantly so close to Her Son, will assuredly guide the staff, trustees and pilgrims safely and steadily through this time of transition."

A message on the Walsingham Shrine website says: "This news will bring great sadness to many. Our thoughts, gratitude and prayers are with them and the Franciscan Order at this time of momentous change."

Vatican returns fragments of Parthenon Marbles to Greece

Three fragments of the Parthenon Marbles were returned to Acropolis Museum in Athens on Friday afternoon. 

The pieces of marble sculpture, depicting a horses head and two male heads had been kept in the Vatican Museum for more than two centuries.

Following his apostolic journey to Cyprus and Greece in December 2021, Pope Francis told the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of Athens, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, that he wanted to return the artefacts.

His Beatitude Ieronymos II presided over Friday's ceremony that was attended by a Vatican delegation with Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawłowski, Apostolic Nuncio to Greece; Mgr Andrea Palmieri, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; and Professor Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums.

In his address, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, expressed his great joy and gratitude for the reunification of the three fragments of the Parthenon from the Vatican Museums with the Parthenon architectural sculptures at the Acropolis Museum, "their natural place." He said this initiative of Pope Francis in donating the fragments has "historic importance, with multiple positive repercussions on several levels."

First, His Beatitude noted, it shows the "tangible proof of the fruits produced by the fraternal relations that exist among us Christians, guided by truth, love, mutual respect and understanding." It shows our world today, marked by injustice, that solutions to our problems are possible when there is goodwill and a sincere desire to resolve them. Second, he recalled how "truth is restored" and wounds from the past are healed with this reunification of inseparable parts of this special monument of the world's cultural heritage. In conclusion, he expressed his wish that the gesture of Pope Francis might be imitated by others. He thanked all those who contributed to making this celebration possible.

Bishop Brian Farrell, said that the gifting of the fragments marks "an ecclesial, cultural and social gesture of friendship and solidarity with the people of Greece." He recalled the origin of Pope Francis' desire to make this gesture and how it affirms "ever more strongly the friendship and spiritual closeness between our Churches." He conveyed the Pope's warmest greetings and prayerful good wishes to His Beatitude and the whole body of the Church of Greece.

He added that "people of goodwill can see in this event the expression of a shared hope that our diverse cultures, and art itself, will always be a privileged means of dialogue and encounter among peoples. In that exchange, we enrich each other, in the wonderful diversity of our histories, our achievements and the universal aspiration to peace and fraternity."

In conclusion, he expressed hopes that "from the encounter between peoples and their cultures - of which the homecoming of the Parthenon fragments is one eloquent sign - will spring the understanding and solidarity that leads to peace."

The Greek Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni said: "This is a gesture with a strong religious, but also political symbolism, which reflects the deep moral conviction that the mangled and mutilated monument itself demands the return of its architectural sculptural members, in order to regain its single and indivisible physical, aesthetic and semantic entity."

Last year another marble fragment from the Parthenon temple, depicting a foot of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis, was returned to Athens from a museum in Palermo, Sicily.

Ukrainian Catholics in Australia change from Julian to Gregorian calendar

The Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia will switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, sharing the feasts of Easter and Christmas with other Catholics following a decree by Bishop Mykola Bychok CSsR.

The move follows resolutions ­promulgated by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk on February 6.

Ukrainian Catholics will no longer celebrate Christmas on January 7, but join Roman Catholics on December 25.

In the formal declaration posted online on Wednesday, Bishop Bychok announced that the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul, Melbourne, responsible for Australia’s Ukrainian Catholics, will adopt the Gregorian calendar for both moveable and immovable feasts.

The change will take effect from September 1, the first day of the liturgical year for churches with Byzantine heritage.

Previously, the eparchy has followed the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian, and is used by the Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox churches, as well as Ukrainian Catholics.

“I pray the Good Lord to grant our Eparchy his grace for a smooth transition to the Gregorian calendar,” the decree said.

Mitred Archpriest Simon Ckuj, protosynkellos of the eparchy and parish priest of St Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, Lidcombe, said that for many people the news would be “difficult and very emotional.”

But parishes would find it easier to conduct the great feasts, in particular, with the support of the Good Friday holiday.

“We are not giving up anything, in fact it’s a way of making our traditions more relevant in Australia today,” Fr Ckuj said.

Man jailed over Texas murder of Co Limerick priest seeks to overturn conviction

A Texas court has heard evidence in support of a man who claims he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a Co Limerick priest in the Lone Star State, 40 years ago.

In 1983, James Reyos was convicted of murdering Fr Patrick Ryan, 49, a native of Doon, Co Limerick, even though Mr Reyos had an airtight alibi and swore he was innocent after recanting a drunken admission he had made a year after the murder.

Now, forty years on the Ector County district attorney’s office in Texas is finally listening to Reyos, and is actually supporting his appeal to have his murder conviction quashed.

Fr Ryan’s naked, beaten and slashed body was discovered in Room 126, Sand and Sage Motel, Odessa, 80 miles from his home, on December 21, 1981.

Ryan, who at the time, was serving as Parish Priest of Denver City and Plains, Texas, had checked into the motel under an assumed name and address.

Evidence of finger prints found in the motel room, which was thought to have been lost, was recently discovered, and which points to three other males being the chief suspects for Fr Ryan’s killing, but whom are all dead.

An evidentiary hearing to present evidence of Mr Reyos’ innocence was heard before Ector County District Court, Texas, late on Friday night Irish time.

A statement released in the early hours of Saturday by Mr Reyos’ attorney Allison Clayton, who is also deputy director of the Innocence Project of Texas (IPTX), read: “The hearing today was just the beginning of more than one truly heinous injustices being corrected. In my time practicing I have never seen a case like this where the prosecution is fighting in tandem with the defense team.”

“Today hopefully marks the beginning of true justice for both Mr Reyos, and Father Patrick Ryan. We look forward to the trial court’s ruling in this matter and certainly anticipate that the legion of followers supporting and advocating for James will be nothing less than a resounding demand for justice to prevail,” it added.

A spokeswoman for IPTX, which has contributed to the exoneration and release of 28 wrongfully convicted Texans, said: “We are now waiting for a recommendation from the district judge on the evidence presented today. It could take up to a few months for the judge to issue his recommendation. If he recommends that James be exonerated, it will then go to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for a final ruling.”

Suspect pleads not guilty in murder of LA Auxiliary Bishop O'Connell

The man suspected of killing Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O'Connell in his Hacienda Heights home pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing March 22.

Carlos Medina, 61, has been charged with one felony count of murder and a special allegation that he used a firearm. 

During the arraignment at Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown LA, Superior Court Judge Armenui Amy Ashvanian ordered that Medina remain in jail in lieu of $2 million bail, and his next scheduled court appearance is May 17, when a hearing will be set to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to require him to stand trial.

If convicted, Medina faces up to 35 years to life in prison.

Medina is the husband of Bishop O'Connell's housekeeper and had done work at the home, authorities said. He was arrested at his Torrance home Feb. 20 after a six-hour standoff with SWAT and LA County Sheriff's deputies.

Medina admitted to the killing, said District Attorney George Gascón during a Feb. 22 press conference. A motive for the killing remains under investigation by the Sheriff's Department.

LA County Sheriff Robert Luna previously said Bishop O'Connell was shot multiple times in the bedroom of his home Feb. 18. The bishop's body was discovered when a deacon went to his home because Bishop O'Connell was late for a meeting, he said.

Weapons found in Medina's home after his arrest were tested to see if they were connected to Bishop O'Connell's murder, Luna said in February.

The bishop was a longtime priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 1979, largely serving in South LA. Long known for his pastoral work with the poor and disenfranchised, Then-Father O'Connell was named an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in July 2015. Since then, he had served as episcopal vicar for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, one of the Los Angeles Archdiocese's five regions.

In a statement, the archdiocese said the arraignment "marks a next step in the legal process with the hopes of bringing about justice and healing from this terrible tragedy."

"We appreciate the diligent efforts of all involved in these proceedings," read the statement. "We have been extremely moved by the tremendous outpouring of prayers and support from throughout our archdiocese, across the nation and around the world. It is truly a testament to Bishop David O'Connell's ministry to bring God's loving mercy to all, especially those most in need."

A new exhibit honoring Bishop O'Connell's life, ministry, and legacy recently opened inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.

The chapel, located in one of the niches in the cathedral’s south ambulatory, features photos of the bishop throughout his life, as well as personal items such as handwritten notes, a Bible, a rosary, books of jokes, and more, including a plaque from his office with his episcopal motto, "Jesus, I trust in you."

"We have made a beautiful, prayerful chapel to our beloved friend. I hope many will be able to come and celebrate the life of Bishop O'Connell, which was truly a life lived for Jesus," said Archbishop José H. Gomez, who was on hand to dedicate the chapel March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. Bishop O'Connell was a native of Ireland.

After his murder, thousands paid respect at vigils, Masses and his funeral with an outpouring of love, mourning and tales of how Bishop O'Connell impacted their lives.

Memorial to modern Christian martyrs opens in Rome

Amid the remains of a pagan temple on an island in the Tiber River hangs a red chasuble worn by St. Oscar Romero of San Salvador.

Nearby there is a relic of Blessed Stanley Rother, an Oklahoma priest shot in Guatemala in 1981, and a jagged rock used by the Polish security police officers who murdered Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko in 1984.

In 2002 St. John Paul II recognized the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome as a shrine to the "new martyrs" of the 20th century. 

Shortly afterward, the Italian government began an archaeological exploration of the crypt under the church and discovered the remains of a temple dated to the third century before Christ and dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine.

The Community of Sant'Egidio, which cares for the basilica and the shrine, hosted an event March 23 to dedicate a new exposition space among the ruins in the crypt as a museum and memorial to the new martyrs of both the 20th and 21st centuries.

The inauguration took place on the eve of St. Romero's feast day, a day the Diocese of Rome and many others around the world remember the "new martyrs" of Nazism, communism, totalitarianism and anti-Christian persecution.

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, titular cardinal of the church, told those gathered, "Here in this sacred space we remember the stories and honor the relics of those, who while they come from different lands and cultures, share the common bond that the Gospel of Jesus Christ gave birth to their martyrdom."

And, he thanked the community for including Blessed Rother, "the first martyr from the United States and the first priest born in the United States to be beatified."

Archbishop Fabio Fabene, secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, said the fact that the basilica hosts a relic of the Apostle Bartholomew as well as a breviary used by Father Jacques Hamel, killed in France in 2016, is a reminder that "martyrdom has been a reality of the church from the beginning" and is a "sign of the greatest love a Christian can have for Christ and for his brothers and sisters."

He also announced that as part of the preparations for the Holy Year 2025, the dicastery is instituting a "new martyrs" commission that will gather documentation about Christians who have given their lives for their faith in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the papal vicar for Rome, said it is important that the memorial is in Rome so that "every pilgrim who comes to pray at the tombs of the martyrs St. Peter and St. Paul will have a reminder that there are still people giving their lives for their faith today."

Like other speakers, Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant'Egidio Community, noted that the shrine and memorial illustrate what Pope Francis has called the "ecumenism of blood," or the unity Christians have experienced in being persecuted for their faith in Christ and not for their belonging to any one denomination.

The martyrs honored at the basilica are Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant.

"The martyrs confirm that the heart of the Christian faith is giving one's life for others," Riccardi said.

Cardinal Cupich said they "reveal the unity" of Christians across time and space, and "they have the power to rebuild fraternity among all peoples."

Colombian bishops ask Vatican to consider creation of Amazonian rite

Indigenous communities in Colombia are calling for a new rite in the church that reflects their varied spiritualities and lifestyles, Colombia's bishops said.

About half of the country's bishops met with Pope Francis March 24 to end their ad limina visit to the Vatican, the first for Colombia's bishops since 2012.

Bishop Omar de Jesús Mejía Giraldo of Florencia, whose diocese sits along the border of the Amazon rainforest, told journalists that the pope is encouraging Colombia's bishops to continue researching an Amazonian rite and remain close to the region's Indigenous communities.

"In this moment the church is asking CEAMA, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region, to reflect deeply and thoroughly to see how we can make inroads toward an Amazonian rite," he said.

The bishop said that Pope Francis told them the Vatican would not "shut down" the development of an Amazonian rite and that "there will arrive a moment where (the church) will discern it thoroughly."

Bishop Mejía said the prospect of Amazonian rite was the main point of discussion in the bishops' hour-long meeting with Cardinal Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, March 23.

"The bishops that work in these areas had the opportunity to tell (the Vatican) the cultural variety and richness of these original peoples in terms of languages and spiritualities," he said. "Indigenous communities are not monolithic, they are so many."

Bishop Mejía said one practice CEAMA is looking into is the purification rituals of the Amazon's Indigenous communities, which involve stepping into the smoke produced by burning branches and aromatic plants.

Yet he noted that any conclusions still remain distant. The bishop referenced the creation of the Zairean Rite used in Congo and approved by the Vatican in 1988. Priests celebrating Mass in the Zairean Rite dress in traditional African priestly vestments and dancing is permitted among the congregants, among other liturgical differences from the Roman Rite.

"The bishops that worked in that region said they took 27 years of research and being close to the different cultures to decide on the formation of a rite," he said, so for bishops in the Amazon, "it's about at least starting the process."

In September 2022, a delegation from CEAMA submitted a proposal for the institution of the Amazonian rite to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Bishop Mejía said that while there remains a "very long process of prayer and reflection" before any action is taken, the Amazon's bishops are buoyed by the support from Pope Francis.

"The pope is telling us: Dive in, be creative, be in communion with the church but have some creativity, too," he said.

Confession is ‘encounter of love’ that fights evil, Pope tells priests

In a world where "there is no shortage of hotbeds of hatred and revenge," Pope Francis told priests and seminarians that "we confessors must multiply the 'hotbeds of mercy,'" by making it easy for people to access the sacrament of reconciliation.

"We are in a supernatural struggle" with evil, the pope said, "even though we already know the final outcome will be Christ's victory over the powers of evil. This victory truly takes place every time a penitent is absolved. Nothing drives away and defeats evil more than divine mercy."

Pope Francis was speaking March 23 with priests and seminarians attending a course at the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal dealing with matters of conscience, the sacrament of reconciliation and indulgences, and with priests who offer confession at the major basilicas of Rome.

He told them, "If someone doesn't feel like being a giver of the mercy he received from Jesus, don't enter the confessional."

The pope said he had told Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, which assigns confessors to the major basilicas of Rome, that one of the confessors "listens and rebukes, rebukes and then gives you a penance that cannot be done. Please, this will not do, no. Mercy. You are there to forgive and to say something so that the person can move forward renewed by forgiveness."

"You are there to forgive: put that in your heart," the pope told them.

While insisting individual confession is "the privileged way to go, because it fosters a personal encounter with divine mercy, which every repentant heart awaits," the pope also encouraged the priests to offer communal celebrations "on some occasions," as occurred around the world during the Coronavirus pandemic.

As ministers of the church, he said, a priest hearing confession must have obvious "evangelical attitudes," including: "First of all, welcoming everyone without prejudice, because only God knows what grace can work in the hearts at any time; then listening to your brother or sister with the ear of the heart, wounded like Christ's heart; absolving penitents, generously dispensing God's forgiveness; and accompanying the penitent's journey without forcing it, keeping the pace of the faithful with constant patience and prayer."

As he often does, Pope Francis pleaded with the priests to be generous with the time they are available for confessions since "the church's evangelizing mission passes in large part through the rediscovery of the gift of confession, also in view of the approaching jubilee of 2025."

Every cathedral, every shrine and every deanery or cluster of parishes should have an ample schedule of confession times, he said.

"If mercy is the mission of the church, we must facilitate the faithful's access to this 'encounter of love' as much as possible," he said, taking great care when preparing children for their first confession and, especially, when ministering to the sick and dying.

"When not much more can be done to restore the body," he said, "much can and always must be done for the health of the soul."

Especially in an individual confession, he said, God can "caress each individual sinner with his mercy. The Shepherd, and he alone, knows and loves his sheep one by one, especially the weakest and most wounded."

Pope Francis told the seminarians and priests that if they felt they had a vocation as a psychologist or psychoanalyst, "exercise it elsewhere."

And, he said, when a penitent does not seem to be sorry for his or her sins, the priest needs to ask questions that can budge open the heart.

"Are you repentant?" the pope imagined a priest saying. "No," was the imagined response. "But doesn't that weigh you down?"

A priest always must look "for the door to enter with forgiveness," he said. "And when one cannot enter by the door, one enters through the window; but one always must try to enter with forgiveness. With magnanimous forgiveness."

Telling the group that he had an appointment for his own confession at 3 p.m. that day, Pope Francis said God is "abundant; he always forgives more, always!"

World Council of Churches leader, Pope Francis propose ‘summit’ on Ukraine

 

During a visit with Pope Francis in Rome on 23 March, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation and the Roman Catholic Church committed to walking, praying. and working together for justice, reconciliation, and unity.

Those gathered noted that, as the WCC is entering a new phase of leadership, the global fellowship expresses gratitude for the message of Pope Francis to the WCC 11th Assembly, particularly the vision that a common mission as followers of Christ is to bring reconciliation to the world and to inspire churches to continue their journey together in a Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity.

The WCC delegation and Pope Francis noted that their ongoing work builds on former leaders and member churches that have helped the global fellowship’s strategic plan for the next eight years focus on unity, vision, justice, peace, and making the world a better place for all humans and all creation.

The meeting noted the ever-stronger bonds between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church as they continue to develop increasing levels of collaboration in shared work and shared commitment to the one ecumenical movement. This year marks the 58th year of collaboration through the Joint Working Group between the WCC and Roman Catholic Church.

The WCC delegation was comprised of Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, WCC central committee moderator; Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC general secretary; and Prof. Dr Vasile-Octavian Mihoc, WCC programme executive for Ecumenical Relations and Faith and Order.

Bedford-Strohm said he was pleased to speak with Pope Francis about ways to strengthen church unity, “We agreed that it must be our common concern to set signs of unity and understanding in a divided world. For this, we need an ‘ecumenism of the heart’, which gives a clear common witness to Christ even where the institutional unity of the churches has not yet been achieved,” he said. 

“Together we see this witness to Christ also in a clear commitment to the world: to deal with refugees in a dignified way, to overcome poverty and hunger in the world, to overcome the destruction of nature and committed steps towards climate protection,” added Bedford-Strohm.

“Especially now, a spirituality based on Christ and the civil commitment of the churches that comes from it is important. Only in this way can the churches be forces of peace and reconciliation in this world,” concluded the WCC leader.

”It was a wonderful, cordial conversation,” said WCC general secretary Pillay. “We shared with him the aspects of current collaboration we have with the WCC. We expressed the need for continuity of our work together and expressed our appreciation for the participation of the Roman Catholic Church in the work of the WCC, and also now possibly further with the commissions that we are to appoint.”

The conversation, also highlighted very important points, Pillay noted. “The first one was to deal with the Ukraine situation. We shared with the Holy Father our views about the dynamics of what is happening and expressed our concern. and we shared that we are planning a new roundtable, in which we will bring the Ukraine churches, Orthodox churches, and other church leaders together—and also together with the Russian Orthodox Church. The idea is to bring them all together into a conversation about what it means, in terms of Christian unity, to deal with the context of the war,” he said.

Pillay added that all those present expressed concern about how churches are actually becoming disunited because of other factors, including political and economic ones. “We recognized that some of these aspects are certainly finding their way into churches and into church relationships and affecting them in a negative way,” he said. “We affirmed the centrality of Christ in our conversations, and how we can focus together on the Gospel, and how that actually helps us in our relationships in the world.”

Considering the impact politics and social ethics, Pillay said the group considered the question: How do we as Christians, from the perspective of our faith in Christ, relate to all these different aspects?

“Whilst we have been walking, praying and working together, all this while, perhaps the time has come for us to now hold hands as we walk,” said Pillay.

The other issue that the WCC delegation raised was the matter of Nicaea 2025. “We shared with Pope Francis the common Easter and we asked that we can make that a significant event for Christian unity,” he said.

The group also talked about the refugee situation due to climate change and other factors. “We spoke about other general matters—about what the churches should be doing,” Pillay said. “We really felt that there is a sense of coming together. We feel the spirit of good ecumenism.”

The WCC delegation also met with the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, including the Evangelical Baptist Union of Italy, Evangelical Methodist Church in Italy, and Waldensian Church. In addition, the delegation met with Centro Pro Unione (Father James Puglisi, director, Prof. Teresa Francesca Rossi, adjunct director) and the director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome (Rev. Matthew Laferty).

US bishops’ doctrine committee warns against alkaline hydrolysis, human composting

 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine has issued a statement providing principles for evaluating some newer methods and technologies for disposition of the bodies of the deceased.  

The USCCB’s Administrative Committee approved the issuance of the statement on March 15.

In their statement, the doctrine committee affirms that every human being has been created in the image of God and has an inherent dignity and worth.  

Furthermore, since “every man and woman is a unity of body and soul, respect for the person necessarily includes respect for the body.”  

The Church considers burial to be “the most appropriate way of manifesting reverence for the body of the deceased,” as it “clearly expresses our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.” 

While the Church permits cremation unless it is chosen for reasons contrary to the Catholic faith, the preferred method is burial.

Applying the basic principles found in the Instruction regarding Burial of the Deceased and the Conservation of the Ashes in the Case of Cremation (Ad resurgendum cum Christo) issued by the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2016, the committee evaluates 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 -- and concludes that they fail to satisfy the Church’s requirements for proper respect for the bodies of the dead. 

After the alkaline hydrolysis process, there are about 100 gallons of liquid into which the greater part of the body has been dissolved and this liquid is treated as wastewater. 

At the end of the human composting process, the body has completely decomposed along with accompanying plant matter to yield a single mass of compost, with nothing distinguishably left of the body to be laid to rest in a sacred place.

The doctrine committee concludes their statement by recalling that the Catholic faith teaches us that our ultimate destiny as human beings includes our bodiliness: “We are therefore obliged to respect our bodily existence throughout our lives and to respect the bodies of the deceased when their earthly lives have come to an end. The way that we treat the bodies of our beloved dead must always bear witness to our faith in and our hope for what God has promised us.”

The committee’s full statement may be read here: https://www.usccb.org/resources/On Proper Disposition 2023-03-20.pdf.