A snapshot of freedom of education in CanadaFrancis' diplomacyLatin America improves in palliative care, but it is insufficient"Our position remains unequivocal: euthanasia and assisted suicide constitute the deliberate killing of human life in violation of God's commandments; they erode shared dignity by preventing the consideration, acceptance and accompaniment of those who are suffering and dying. Moreover, they undermine the fundamental duty we have to care for the weakest and most vulnerable members of society."
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has thus rejected the recent passage of the nominee bill C-7, known as "Medical Assistance in Dying" (MAiD), which expands the possibility of receiving medical assistance to end life, previously reserved only for those who had "reasonable foresight of natural death."
In fact, the new legislation also includes people who may not be at risk of imminent death, but who have reached a state of "intolerable physical or psychological suffering, due to an incurable illness or disability". The note is dated April 8 and was signed by Archbishop Richard Gagnon, Archbishop of Winnipeg and President of the Canadian Conference of Bishops, on behalf of the members of the Standing Commission, which represents all of the nation's bishops (https://www.cccb.ca/).
Pressures on disabled persons
The text adds that "human life must be protected from conception to natural death, at all stages and under all conditions". The potential pressures that will be placed on people with mental illness or disabilities resulting from legislative changes are all too real, dangerous and potentially destructive."
Canada is one of the few countries in the world to have legalized euthanasia, along with the Netherlands, Colombia and now Spain, as reported by omnesmag.com. Archbishop Gagnon's letter recalls that "just as happened before the 2016 legislation that decriminalized these practices across Canada, the Catholic bishops of Canada have consistently opposed such a law, and more recently its expansion through Bill C-7."
The Catholic Hierarchy shows its support and gratitude to all "compassionate" healthcare workers and volunteers, so that they "continue to defend life, resisting euthanasia and assisted suicide, promoting care for family members, friends and loved ones in their suffering, or assisting the sick and dying."
The president of the Canadian bishops also states that "our advocacy must continue for rapid access to mental health care, social support for people with such illnesses and suicide prevention programs. It must include management and support for people with chronic and/or degenerative illnesses and people living in isolation in our long-term care facilities."
50 religious leaders against
Late last year, more than 50 leaders of religious denominations in Canada demonstrated against this bill. "We feel compelled to express our great concern and opposition to Bill C-7 which, among other things, extends access to euthanasia and assisted suicide to those who are not dying," the representatives of religious traditions stated in a letter, calling for life "to be defended at all costs," Vatican News reported.
"We feel compelled to express our grave concern and opposition to Bill C-7 which, among other things, expands access to euthanasia and assisted suicide to those who are not dying," they wrote." "Our collective reflection centers on the fact that we have come so far as a society, but at the same time have regressed so seriously in the way we treat the weak, the sick and the marginalized."
Moreover, they affirmed the value of the dignity of the human person and the need for palliative care. "We are convinced that a robust palliative care system available to all Canadians is a far more effective response to suffering and in protecting the sacred dignity of the human person; palliative care addresses pain in a loving and caring environment, where people do their best to provide comfort and convenience."
The letter was signed and promoted by the CCCB, Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka, the Canadian Council of Imams, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada.
Bishop Paglia: "to be human".
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, commenting on the approval of the euthanasia law in Spain, said, "We must respond to the spread of a true culture of euthanasia, in Europe and in the world, with a different cultural approach."
"The suffering and despair of the sick," he added, "must not be ignored. But the solution is not to anticipate the end of life. The solution is to deal with physical and psychological suffering. The Pontifical Academy for Life supports the need to spread palliative care, which is not the prelude to euthanasia, but a true palliative culture of care for the whole person, with a holistic approach," the official Vatican agency noted.
"When we can no longer heal, we can always care for people. We should not anticipate the dirty work of death with euthanasia. We must be human, be at the side of those who suffer, not leave them in the hands of a dehumanization of medicine or in the hands of the euthanasia industry," concluded Monsignor Paglia.
