Ministry of Care and Companionship

The inaugural Archbishop James M. Hayes Symposium will happen May 9, 10, and 11, 2016 and is being hosted by the Atlantic School of Theology (AST). The theme of the symposium is: Living Through Death: Dying, Death and Bereavement.

The Symposium is a learning opportunity for the ongoing professional development of health care providers, spiritual care practitioners, and those interested in broadening their understanding of dying, death and bereavement in our changing world.

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.