Dying with Christ, Living with Hope
Last week the government of Canada introduced Bill C-14 which sets out proposed legislation to make available “assisted dying” to those who wish to use medical means to end their lives. It must be made clear that this is contrary to our Catholic understanding and teachings regarding life and death.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has released a statement and many individual bishops, including Archbishop Mancini, have issued their own statements. In part Archbishop Mancini’s reads:
Following the release on February 25, 2016, of the report Medical Assistance in Dying: A Patient-Centred Approach, by the Special Joint Committee of the Government of Canada on Physician-Assisted Dying, several declarations and reactions have been published. They include:
February 26, 2016
To the Catholic Faithful of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth
Dear Friends,
On February 25th, 2016, the joint committee of the Government of Canada released its report entitled: Medical Assistance in Dying: A Patient-Centered Approach. It is with great sadness and disappointment that I write this pastoral note to express the inadequacy and unacceptability of these recommendations to the Canadian Government as it prepares itself to pass legislation on the matter of assisted suicide.
