Aquamation (alkaline hydrolysis) as alternative to burial or cremation; NY Catholic Conference and Catholic Church's current position?

Question

Wikipedia's Desmond Tutu (the former archbishop of the Anglican_Diocese_of_Cape_Town, theologian, and known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist) says:

A Funeral Mass was held for Tutu at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town on 1 January 2022... Following the funeral, Tutu's remains were to be aquamated, a process similar to cremation but with up to 90 percent less carbon dioxide emissions. His ashes will be interred in St. George's Cathedral

and that Wikipedia article says:

When alkaline hydrolysis was proposed in New York state in 2012, the New York State Catholic Conference condemned the practice, stating that hydrolysis does not show sufficient respect for the teaching of the intrinsic dignity of the human body²⁰.

²⁰CatholicNewsAgency.com (New York City, N.Y., Mar 25, 2012) NY Catholic conference opposes 'chemical digestion' of human remains

I have two related questions:

1. What were the theological origins of "shows sufficient respect..." from which the New York Catholic Conference would have made the determination that cremation does (barely) but aquamation doesn't?
2. Have they maintained this position? Does the Catholic Church as a whole have a position on the more environmentally friendly alternative to cremation?

Answer 1

Aquamation (alkaline hydrolysis) as alternative to burial or cremation; NY Catholic Conference and Catholic Church's current position?

When the alkaline hydrolysis was proposed in New York state in 2012, the New York State Catholic Conference condemned the practice, stating that hydrolysis does not show sufficient respect for the teaching of the intrinsic dignity of the human body.

• The process reduces the human body to its simple chemical components.
• Aquamation in New South Wales is the only company to currently to provide alkaline hydrolysis in Australia, with the remains being used as fertilizer on plantation forests, due to difficulty with obtaining permits from Sydney Water.

The danger of not having proper safeguards in place, could lead to states to show a lack of proper respect for the sacredness of the human body. This is why the New York Bishops took the stance they did. The law must protect the dignity of the human body after death.

If the legal definition of cremation changes, the conference noted, individuals who request to be cremated after death, in the traditional sense - could inadvertently have their bodies dissolved into a waste product, due to a misunderstanding of their expressed wishes.

The conference warned that the bill “contains no safeguards to prevent this from happening.”

NY Conference opposes “chemical digestion” of human remains

According to Catholic Law, human remains must be buried, even if cremated.

When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority. - Summary of New Vatican Guidelines for Burial and Cremation

In the end it is not the environmentally friendly alternative to cremation that the Church opposes, but rather the lack of safeguards to respecting the sacredness of human life even in death.