On the Human Body

Well, despite this super serious title, if you are looking for a Thomas Aquinas still Q&A, you will not find it here. This is just a collection of thoughts, generated by two things. One, a friend of mine called me to get an opinion (basically a confirmation that she was not the Only Sane (wo)Man), and two, I walked past a cemetery remodeling project on my way to my favourite BlogSpot.
So, first, the call from the friend. Una called to say hello and see if I'd received my Christmas present. The conversation diverged onto a conversation she'd had with co-workers the previous day, about donating one's body to science. Apparently one of her co-workers recently read a book about it and found that the donated bodies are used for things like:
- crash test dummies
- swamp burial to test decomposition rates
- med student practice.
- And other things.
Of all the things mentioned, most of which I honestly forget, the only one that was mentioned that I think can be a legitimate use/reason for donating one's body to science is for the purpose of med student practice. In this capacity, provided the body is buried properly after they are done practicing their dissections and whatnot, I have no objections. As to official Church teaching, if I was a better blogger, I would provide a link to the appropriate portion of the Catechism or a relevant encyclical. But since I'm me and I'm strapped as always for time, I will just call it good with giving my opinion and saying I'm pretty sure the Church will back me up on it.
Well, I would have probably been blogging about something else all together, but I saw the cemetery renovations on my way over here. Honestly the cemetery was a very plain-Jane (probably should be plain-Shane, seeing as I'm fairly certain the majority of the residents are male) affair, and that in my own humble opinion is no very bad thing. It has a low stone wall, gravel walkways, a flagpole and a small monument in the center, and perhaps a hundred or so identical white marble headstones.

***

Part Two to possibly follow later. Freakin' internet connection dropped and I lost the last half of this post as well as my review of Young Victoria. Raargh. I give up. I have a room to clean and homework-like things to do.