Let's go to Wilma in Jacksonville, Florida. Hi, Wilma.

Hello, Patrick. My question is, what's the position of the church in the name, the whole body for medical studies?

Well, the first thing is that the church does say that organ transplants, so let's say cornea, liver, you know, heart, what have you, that those are morally permissible. In fact,

I think the language is that it's noble. I think the church says it's a noble thing to do in the

catechism. So we can say that much. Now, as far as the body itself is concerned, I don't think

the church has said specifically, no or yes, you can donate your body to science.

But here's my thought for discouraging you from doing that.

This is my personal rationale, and that is that, as a baptized Catholic, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

So better, if you ask me, that even if you donate organs after your death, or at the time of your

death, that it would be better for you because you are a temple of the Holy Spirit, for your

body to be interred, to be buried, and given all the proper respect that's due to one of the

faithful departed, and let those who are not baptized be the bodies, the cadavers that are used

in medical studies. And there's a need for that, of course,

but there are countless people out there who are not baptized

and therefore are not temples of the Holy Spirit.

Now, this is not to demean anybody or anything like that,

but you as a Christian who have been baptized,

you are in a unique category.

And so I'm offering you my personal opinion if we were having a conversation.

You said, well, what do you think about this?

I would say, well, what I think is, no, not a good idea to donate your body to science.

Organs, sure, the church says that's fine.

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